Starts With Goodbye
by WritingisArt20
Summary: A few years later, Lily returns to the ED. It's not long though before the spark between her and Iain is reignited and soon, it's obvious - they want to be together. However, with Lily with a ring on her finger and Iain in a serious relationship with Sam, will they find a way to be together?
1. Chapter 1

**This story is named after the song 'Starts With Goodbye' by Carrie Underwood. It's one of my favourites. I have been watching Casualty for a few years and Lily is my favourite character, even though she has left. I do like Bea, Ethan, Connie, and Alicia as well though.**

Chapter One

"Why did we have to come back to this dump?"

Lily smirked at the handsome man that stood beside her and gave a slow, stern shake of the head. He wasn't smiling back, but was stood staring up at the stone building with a pure look of disgust. She furrowed her brow and reached into the boot of the silver Mercedes for her suitcase. He made no movement to help her with it at all.

"It's my home. Remember?" She hissed through a pair of gritted teeth.

Clearing her throat, she dropped the heavy case at her feet, thinking of the clothes and the books and the two pairs of shoes that filled it. He just slammed the boot down, locked the car, and began to walk towards the 'dump' as he'd called it.

Henry Kellerman wasn't the nicest of people, and Lily often wondered what had made her fall in love with him in the first place. He was a family man though; a consultant, and the two of them had loads in common that they were able to talk about. In a weird way, she didn't care that he enjoyed drinking more than cuddling. She didn't care that he didn't call her beautiful and make her feel good about herself. She didn't care that he didn't really support her that much. He was her perfect guy, the guy that she'd always drawn pictures of as a child and the guy who fitted perfectly into her five-year plan.

She pulled the handle out of her case with a frustrated groan and tried to force a smile for him. He was the love of her life at the end of the day, the reason that she woke up in the morning, so his flaws didn't exactly matter. Did they?

"Are you coming or what?" He called aggressively to her from the other side of the car park. "This _was_ your idea."

"I'm sorry, Henry," Lily apologised and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind one ear. "I was just getting my case," she added, hoping that he would get the hint.

He didn't though, so she had no choice but to stagger after him with heels, a heavy and awkward suitcase, and her handbag. Henry, however, walked freely with no difficulties at all.

Lily had clear memories of her and Henry's first meet.

It was at her first ever work conference in Hong Kong, and it was safe to say that she'd been nervous. She hadn't been there long, she hardly knew a single person, and she really wanted to do well in her new job. Thinking back, she couldn't work out why, but at the time she had been close to calling in sick.

She'd arrived at half past six, half an hour before the conference was due to start, giving herself plenty of time to settle in and find a seat near the front. The first thing she did was head to the bar to get herself a drink, nothing alcoholic and nothing too fancy, just a simple Diet Coke. As she stood and sipped, the hustle and bustle of the loud voices around her ringing in her ears, someone set some coins down on the bar under her nose. She looked up, sucked in a breath and curled her fingers around her glass, as she realised that she was looking into the eyes of a very handsome and very young gentleman. She knew the feeling well, she'd never felt like that about anyone apart from Iain, not even Ethan or Archie.

"Let me get that for you," he'd said.

He was gorgeous. He had dark, spiky, brown hair and dark, chocolate, brown eyes that people could easily melt into. Cute dimples took over his face when he smiled, and he had his top button undone to reveal a small patch of chest hair.

"Why?" Lily had asked in a soft whisper, but he'd held his index finger to her lips before she could even attempt to say anything else.

They'd sat together at the conference and they'd talked constantly about their careers and their ambitions for the future. He'd been so nice at the time and surprisingly enough; he'd been the one to ask her out. Since making their relationship official though, he hadn't once bought her another drink, let alone a decent meal, and he hadn't once said how beautiful she was. It was as if he'd been putting on an act to try and seduce her, and yet she was still with him.

"Lead the way then," he sighed, when she'd eventually caught up.

"You know, you could help me with my case," she snapped.

Rolling his eyes, he snatched the case away from her and she took hold of his free hand. He scoffed and held back with that same look of disgust, so she just walked ahead through the double doors of Holby City ED.

It felt good to be home.

The first person she saw was Noel, busy doing paperwork at the reception desk. She glanced towards Resus, just as Connie and Robyn walked through the double doors.

"Lily!" Exclaimed Robyn, running over and enveloping Lily in a hug. "What are you doing here? I…I thought you were in Hong Kong."

"It's my mother's sixtieth birthday this weekend," Lily informed.

"Welcome back, Doctor Chao," Connie greeted formally, with a small and awkward smile. "It's good to see you."

She subtly glanced across at Henry, constant thoughts whirling around her mind. Who was he? Why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't Lily introduced him yet?

"So, how have you been?" She questioned her.

"Great," Lily answered. "Thank you for asking, Mrs Beauchamp. The research project has been wonderful, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time there."

"I'm pleased to hear that," Connie said. "You have done extremely well, Lily. Well done."

She glanced once more towards Henry, and Robyn slowly moved her head in sync so that they were both staring intensely at him. He was stood awkwardly beside Lily, her suitcase at his feet, and a bored and blank expression on his face. It was then when Lily suddenly clocked.

"Oh!" She gestured towards him and said, "This is my fiancé, Henry Kellerman."

Robyn let out a high-pitched squeal whilst Connie's eyes widened and looked the man up and down. He wore skinny jeans and a smart, black jacket, but there was something rather strange about him. She just couldn't place her finger on it.

"Fiancé?" She questioned Lily in a small voice.

"You're getting married?" Robyn stated the obvious, her hands held up to her mouth in shock. "When?"

"In June, hopefully," Lily said and held her hand out to reveal the huge rock that sat upon her wedding finger.

"That is gorgeous!" Robyn gasped, grabbing hold of Lily's wrist so that she could admire the ring at a closer angle. "Wow! You chose a good one there, Lily," she said, nodding towards Henry.

"Anything for my girl," Henry said and wrapped an arm around Lily's waist.

Even Lily appeared shocked at his touch, but she said nothing about it and just placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. He grinned and showed his teeth, before whipping his attention back to Connie and Robyn.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you both," he said and held out his hand for a shake straight away. "I hope that we will see you at the wedding."

Connie thanked him under her breath and said, "Kellerman, is it?"

"You've probably heard the name," Henry boasted and shrugged his shoulders. "My father is one of the best doctor's in the country."

"Hmmm. I did think that it sounded familiar," Connie said, and slowly accepted his handshake.

"You're so lucky, Lily," Robyn said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Indeed," Connie sighed. "Why don't we finish this conversation later? Hope and Anchor at seven o'clock? We can then have a proper celebration, and get to know Henry a little bit better as well."

"That sounds lovely," Lily replied. "Thank you."

"But I thought we had dinner plans," Henry mentioned.

"We can still grab dinner," Lily said. "We have six hours."

"Whatever," Henry scoffed, and handed the suitcase back to her. "I'm going to use the bathroom. Then can we go?"

"Sure," Lily sighed, taking her case from him, as he stormed off to find the gents. "It's really nice to be back in Holby," Lily said to Connie, in an attempt to make some small talk.

"It's really nice to see you again," Connie said. "And um…Lily?"

Lily nodded at her, waiting patiently to hear what her old boss had to say.

"I hope you're happy."

* * *

"Well, well, well."

Iain turned his head and smirked when he saw her standing behind him. Sam Nicholls. Someone who he'd known for years, someone who he'd once been in a relationship with, and someone who he'd slowly made his way back to.

"There is my sexy, handsome paramedic," Sam teased and playfully tapped him on the nose. "I have been looking everywhere for you."

"Clearly, you weren't looking hard enough," Iain chuckled and pressed his lips against hers. "I'm just tidying up if you wanted to grab some lunch."

"We could do," Sam sighed. "Or we could stay here, make use of an empty ambulance, if you know what I'm talking about."

"I do know what you're talking about." Iain shook his head at her and leaned back against the wall. "But we only have forty minutes, and I need to get some food in me. I'm bloody starving."

He hoped that a change of subject would change Sam's mind. He hoped that she wouldn't take the conversation any further. It wasn't that he didn't like the thought of making out in the back of an ambulance; it was just the fact that he'd once done the same with Lily. He was happy with Sam, he loved her, but he'd never stopped thinking about his ex girlfriend. Lily was special and he'd been devastated when she'd left to begin a new life in Hong Kong.

"Is your stomach the only thing that you think about?" Sam laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I suppose we could always use the ambulance when we finish our shifts?"

"Yeah," Iain scoffed. "Maybe. We'll see."

"Is everything okay, Iain?" Sam asked, tilting her head so that she was able to read his facial expressions. "You seem distracted."

"Nah, just tired," he said and soothingly ran small circles up and down her arms. "I'm alright."

"Good, because I can't have you falling asleep on me now," Sam said.

Iain nodded and gently rested his head against her chest, breathing in her scent. Nothing. No sparks, no racing heart, no nothing. He wasn't sure what that meant and he wasn't sure if he was making the right decision, but Sam clearly cared an awful lot about him. Besides, when him and Sam were a couple all those years ago, he'd really enjoyed their time together.

"I love you," Sam whispered softly in his ear.

"Yeah," Iain whispered back and locked eyes with her. "I love you too."

As the two of them leaned in to share a kiss, Robyn rushed in and completely interrupted the moment. Iain pulled away, cleared his throat, and turned to see what it was that she wanted. She was panting and seemed completely out of breath, but she looked excited and thoroughly happy with the piece of news that she was about to share with them.

"What are you guys doing after work?" She panted. "We're all going for drinks at The Hope and Anchor," she then added, before Sam could even tell her their plans.

"Why?" Iain frowned in confusion.

It was no one's birthday, no special occasion, and Robyn seemed way too excited over just a few drinks.

"You'll never believe it," she said. "Lily's back, and she's getting married."

 **There will be loads more to come, and you will all get to know Henry a bit better as well. He's quite a nasty but fun character to write about. Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far.**

 **Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**LillyMayFlower: Thank you so much. There is a lot about Henry that you are soon to find out, trust me. Lots of Connie to come as well. Thank you for your review.**

 **RedBelle94: Definitely, an awkward moment. Thank you for your review.**

 **ReadingxTherapy: I've got quite a few ideas for it. I really like writing Henry's scenes to be honest, bad characters are a lot of fun. Nope, not mean at all, because I'm happy as well. Thank you for your review.**

 **milali: Me too. They were my favourite couple. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Two

Lily passed the pint of beer to her new fiancé, before handing the money over to the bartender. She picked up her own glass of wine with a sigh and turned to him with a smile, her back against the side of the bar.

"Ten minutes then, alright?" He said and began to down his beer. "You promised."

"They want to celebrate our engagement," Lily told him. "They're happy for us."

"I just don't see the point in being around a bunch of people who you don't even like anymore," he spat.

Lily pursed her lips and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"I didn't say that I didn't like them," she hissed. "I just said that it was hard to settle in when I first started, and that I'd had a few – Problems with them. We were all on good terms when I left."

"Bit late for that, wasn't it?" He scoffed. "Still, at least I have the alcohol to help me through this torture."

Lily looked disapprovingly at the already half empty glass in his hand, and said, "You're not planning on having too many of them, are you? Remember the last time."

"Look," he spat, breathing the alcohol smell all over Lily. "I will have as many as I want. I'm doing this crap for you, aren't I? Don't tell me what to do."

His teeth were gritted, and there was a hint of anger in both of his eyes. Lily gulped back the lump in her throat and nodded faintly at him; she didn't want to make things worse. Slowly, she placed a hand on his chest and leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek.

"I'm going to go and talk to Robyn," she whispered softly.

She set her glass of wine down on the counter, silently telling herself that she wasn't exactly in the right mood of alcohol, and went to join her old colleagues at a table by the window.

"He is very cute, Lily," Alicia said, leaning across to her. "You picked a good one there."

"Aren't you dating Ethan?" Louise questioned her.

Alicia cleared her throat and sat back in her chair awkwardly with her arms folded across her chest.

"So?" She asked. "I can still stare."

Robyn laughed and turned her attention towards Lily.

"She is right though," she said. "He's adorable. I'm so happy for you, Lily."

"Thank you." Lily smiled at them all. "How's Charlotte doing anyway, Robyn?"

"She's doing really well," Robyn said. "She's at nursery now and she absolutely loves it. It's going to be weird when she starts school, but I have a little while to go yet. Are you and Henry thinking about kids at all?"

"What?" Lily's eyes went wide, and she almost choked on the air. "Not yet, no. Not at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I would love kids, but we're just going to focus on the wedding for the time being."

The bell of the pub suddenly chimed as the door opened, and the four women all looked up to see Connie walk in. She clocked them straight away and strolled over to join them, her heels tapping loudly against the wooden floor.

"This is a nice surprise, Mrs Beauchamp," Robyn said. "You never come to the pub."

"This is a special occasion though, isn't it?" She said and teasingly nudged Lily's arm. "Come on then, what have you done with him?"

"He's at the bar," Lily said, nodding her head towards Henry who was tapping away at his mobile.

"Is he not joining us?" Louise asked in confusion.

"Maybe later," Lily sighed, slowly diverting her eyes to the floor. "He's quite shy. Big crowds panic him. I'm sure he'll be over soon."

Connie said nothing and turned to look over her shoulder at Lily's new fiancé. She wanted to be happy for her, but Lily deserved someone loving and kind, and Henry just didn't come across as that someone. Still, she didn't really feel obliged to say anything. She couldn't.

"Who wants a drink anyway?" She asked instead, whipping her purse out of her black, Chanel handbag. "First round is on me."

* * *

"I can't believe that Lily is actually getting married," Sam said, as she and Iain walked hand in hand towards The Hope and Anchor.

Sam had been doing all of the talking, but she wasn't really getting anywhere. Since hearing the news of Lily's engagement, Iain had become almost mute.

"Hey," she whispered and stopped him, before he could walk through the door. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He shrugged his shoulders at her, his face serious and hurt. "She's moved on, hasn't she? So have I. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"She was once the love of your life, wasn't she?" Sam said. "And it doesn't take a genius to realise that the feelings are still there."

Iain hung his head, suddenly realising how he must have been coming across. He couldn't lose Sam as well. Why was it that he had a habit of ruining wonderful relationships?

"I'm sorry," he apologised in a quiet voice, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his jeans. "It's just a bit of a shock. I…I don't love Lily anymore. You're the only woman in my life now, however, it is going to be difficult seeing her again. It's been so long and she really hurt me when she left."

"And I understand that," Sam said. "I do. We need to be happy for her though, don't we? Hasn't Lily always wanted a loving family, a big white wedding, and a husband? We need to show our love."

"I know," Iain said and gave her a peck on the cheek to show how much he cared about her. "Come on."

With a forced smile, Sam followed Iain into The Hope and Anchor but after stepping inside, she realised what a big mistake they'd made. Iain was frozen to the spot, as if his feet had been nailed to the floor. Of course, it was the same place where Iain had sang the world's worst rendition of It Must Be Love, in an attempt to get Lily to stay. Good and bad memories flooded their brains, as they scanned the room for their colleagues. Eventually, Sam spotted them and she pulled on Iain's arm to try and snap him out of his trance.

"I'll get us some drinks," she offered, allowing Iain to have some time alone with his ex.

Iain gulped anxiously and nodded, as he slowly dragged himself over to the table where Lily was sat. Alicia was the first one to clock him, and she was nodded her head at Lily, who slowly lifted her eyes up to her ex boyfriend. A smile appeared on her face, which Iain was quick to return.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she whispered back.

It was like the time in the hospital. Lily had been run over by Gem, and she'd been sleeping soundly in the ICU, whilst Iain sat beside her and talked to her. He'd said stuff, stuff about how they were going to be something special, and she'd managed to sense his presence. After opening her eyes, the two of them had just smiled at each other and whispered just one word.

Hi.

Lily left the drink that Connie had bought for her, and stood up from her chair.

"How are you?" She asked, as she came face to face with him.

"I'm very well, thank you," he said. "And yourself? You look good."

"I'm very well too," Lily said. "I - I don't know if you - you know why…"

"I know," Iain cut her off to save her from the trouble of finding her words. "And I'm really happy for you, Chuckles. Congratulations."

"Chuckles?" Lily kept her voice soft, and she squinted her eyes at him.

"Sorry." He quickly shook his head and ran a hand down his face. "Lily."

"No, it's okay," Lily said. "It was nice. I haven't been called Chuckles in so long. "Sparkling Wit," she added and teasingly winked at him.

Of course Iain had to laugh. He hadn't forgot the time that Lily had called him that, after he'd jokingly said that she was the type to lock her baby in the cupboard.

"Can I get you a drink at all?" Lily offered.

"No, thank you," Iain said. "Sam's getting one."

"Sam?"

As if on queue, Sam arrived at the scene. She handed a pint of beer to Iain and kissed him on the cheek, and Lily suddenly realised what was going on. Her heart sank and all of her worse nightmares had come true. Iain had once told her that she didn't need to worry, that he and Sam were just ex's and nothing more, but they were a couple again, weren't they? She'd left and the two of them had thrown themselves into each other's arms. Lily was heartbroken. Even if she was engaged, she was heartbroken.

"Sorry." Sam looked from Iain and Lily, and sipped awkwardly at her drink. "I've come at a wrong time. I'll grab us a table, Iain. Congratulations on your news, Lily."

Sam gave her shoulder a gentle rub, but Lily just pushed her away and folded her arms across her chest. She looked over her shoulder at Alicia, Robyn, and Connie, but the three of them were deep in conversation and pretending that they weren't listening to a single word. Once Sam was well and truly out of sight, Iain spoke.

"I didn't think that you were coming back," he said.

"You promised me that you didn't still have feelings for Sam," Lily choked out. "You accused me of being silly and immature, and told me that I had nothing to worry about."

"Why are you making a massive deal out of this anyway?" Iain snapped. "You're getting married, aren't you? You've moved on, so why can't I?"

"But it's SAM, Iain!" Lily screamed, causing a few heads to glance over at the scene. "This isn't just some random woman that you picked up off the street. It's SAM!"

"Can't you just be happy for me?" Iain asked. "I'm happy for you. You haven't even introduced me to this guy, Lily. I didn't even know that you were getting married. You didn't ring me at all when you were over there."

Lily went silent. She sighed, knowing and hating the fact that he was right. She hadn't kept in touch with anyone. She couldn't. She wanted a fresh start in Hong Kong.

"Fine," she said. "Follow me."

Iain frowned and followed Lily towards the bar. Henry was on his third pint of beer, continuing to tap away on his mobile.

"Henry," Lily cleared her throat. "Henry?"

It took at least four attempts to get him to look up at her.

"I would like to introduce you to Iain Dean," she said formally. "Iain, this is Henry Kellerman."

"Nice to meet you," Iain said and shook hands with Henry. "Listen. You um…you look after this one, okay?" He said and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. "She's very special to me, and she deserves to be happy."

"Okay…." Henry looked between the two of them, downed the rest of his beer and said, "Do the two of you have history or something?"

He laughed, obviously finding himself extremely funny.

"No," Lily spoke quickly, before Iain could tell him the truth. "No, we don't. He's just a friend."

 **I hope you enjoyed Chapter Two.**


	3. Chapter 3

**LillyMayFlower: Thank you and I know, Connie never steps foot in the pub! That's good, I really enjoyed writing that scene. We will soon see but I think you could be right. Thank you for your review.**

 **ReadingxTherapy: They do both make good points. I'm glad that you enjoyed it and that I wrote it well. Enjoy the next chapter and thank you for your review.**

 **Guest: Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter too. Thank you for your review.**

 **casfics: That is really lovely of you to say that. Thank you for your review.**

 **Guest: Aw, that is a really sweet comment and it really made me smile. I'm glad that you like it so far. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Three

Although she didn't admit it to anyone, Lily was pleased to eventually arrive home that evening.

She went straight to the spare room, to see that her mother had made the bed and set little chocolates on the pillows. A bubble bath had been run in the en-suite, and scented candles had been lit to create a beautiful atmosphere. It was as if she was staying in a hotel.

"I've really missed you, Lily."

Lily smiled at the familiar voice and turned to acknowledge her mother. She was stood with a bath towel draped over one arm. Lily absent-mindedly stepped towards her and the two women embraced each other. Although Lily had experienced problems with her family, like the majority of people, she'd missed her mum. You couldn't choose your family unfortunately, but seeing her mum again made her realise how much she'd actually missed her.

"You have lost weight," she said. "We must feed you immediately."

"Mother," Lily laughed, pulling away from the hug. "Where's Henry?"

"He is downstairs," she told her. "He had to make a call."

"He's been on that phone all evening," Lily said and rolled her eyes.

"It's what men do, Lily," Li Na said. "Your father used to be the same."

She held Lily at arms length, and her smile slowly began to fade. Talking about him still hurt, it still brought back horrible memories. His death had been so sudden, so unexpected, and it was awful to think that they were never going to see him again. Lily had so many regrets, and now he wouldn't be there to give her away at her wedding.

"He would be really proud of you," Li Na said.

"I hope so," Lily choked out, as small tears began to shine her eyes. "Mother?"

"Yes?" Li Na asked, gripping onto her arms even tighter.

"Will you give me away?" Lily asked quietly. "It's what Father would have wanted, and it's what I want as well. You are my mother and it would mean so much to me."

"If – If you're sure," she stuttered, a single tear rolling down one side of her face. "I would love to give you away, Lily."

Lily smiled a teary smile and the two of them shared another hug between them. Although he was her fiancé, Lily really hoped that Henry wouldn't walk in and interrupt the moment. She wanted it to be just her and her mum, no one else.

"I'm going to let you settle in," Li Na said. "It's been a while. Take that bath before the water gets cold, okay?"

"Are you sure that you're okay for us to stay here?" Lily asked. "We don't want to intrude."

"Of course. You are my daughter," Li Na said. "Families are supposed to be there for each other, aren't they? I would never turn my back on you, Lily. Never."

"Thank you, Mother," Lily whispered, smiling awkwardly. "I think I'm going to have that bath now. Will you let Henry know where I am?"

"I will do," Li Na said, her hand on the door handle.

As she exited the room, she left the towel on the floor at her feet, and shut the door quietly behind her.

The bath was probably the best thing that Lily had had since returning to Holby. She took the book that she was currently reading, shut the bathroom door, and just lay there amongst the warm bubbles, relaxing.

As she tried to throw herself into the new world in her book, her mind went to Iain and Sam. She couldn't believe that they were actually a couple, after Iain had promised her that there was nothing going on between them. She'd only been gone for a few years but a lot had changed, and not in a good way either.

She knew that people grew apart, and she knew that things changed over time, but it was all too soon for her liking. She missed the old times.

People seemed so happy for her though. However, she wasn't sure if she was happy. Was she?

She opened her eyes, realising that she'd accidentally dosed off in the bath. She'd slowly slipped under and her hair and the pages of her book were absolutely soaked. She held the book up and tried to shake it dry, but the whole thing was ruined. Throwing it onto the bathroom floor, she ran her wet hands down her face in frustration and a small groan escaped her lips. She looked up at the clock and saw that it had just gone ten o'clock. She couldn't remember what time she'd climbed into the bath, but according to the wrinkles on her fingers, she'd been in there for quite a while.

The sound of the TV from the spare room was heard, so loudly that Lily knew exactly what TV show it was. Law and Order. It was Henry's current obsession, and he'd slowly got Lily into it as well. There were so many series, and Lily hardly had any time to catch up on it. Henry, however, seemed to find shed loads of time.

Lily climbed out of the bath and wrapped the towel around her naked body, allowing the water to drip off of the tips of her hair. Stifling a yawn, she walked out of the bathroom and saw Henry lying shirtless on the huge, double bed.

"Thank you for coming tonight," Lily said, taking a look to see what episode of Law and Order it was.

It was one that she hadn't seen before.

"It means a lot to me," she said.

She moved towards the bed and sat down on the end of it, so that she could start to dry herself properly. Henry didn't mutter a word, but the strong smell of alcohol was pouring off of him.

"How many did you have tonight?" She asked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" He scoffed. "It doesn't matter anyway, does it?"

"You're drunk," she scoffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "It obviously does matter because you promised me that you wouldn't drink that much," she whispered with a face of disappointment.

"I'm not drunk. Besides, you promised me that we wouldn't have to stay that long," he said. "I don't even know why you wanted to come back here anyway."

"It's my mother's birthday," Lily reminded him.

"She'll have plenty more," he muttered under his breath.

He paused and his tone changed with a click of the fingers.

"Baby," he said, leaning forwards on the bed. "I just want what's best for us. This place is a dump and you don't belong here. You moved to Hong Kong for a reason, didn't you? None of those people even care about you anymore."

"Of course they do," Lily whispered, hanging her head. "They wanted to celebrate our engagement tonight."

"Couldn't you see that it was just an act?" He asked. "You don't belong there, Lily. You have me, don't you? You don't need friends like that. That Iain guy was as weird as anything."

"Iain cares a lot about me," Lily said.

"And I don't?" He snapped, grabbing hold of her arm. "For crying out loud! Why the hell are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Lily asked in shock.

"Causing an argument!" He yelled. "I have given you everything, Lily! I'm bloody marrying you, aren't I?"

His words and his raised voice caused Lily to flinch away from him. She felt scared, but it was her fault. It always seemed to be her fault. Why did she always have to make him so angry? It was as if she couldn't even help it.

"Please, Henry," she managed, gritting her teeth in pain as his grip tightened. "You're hurting me."

"I'll give you hurting," he threatened and slapped her hard across the cheek. "How's that, huh?"

Lily gasped and bit down hard on her lip. That was going to leave a mark.

"I'm sorry, Henry," Lily cried, as she tried to fight back the pain that was now shooting through her face. "I'm sorry that I got angry. I just don't like it when you drink."

He'd never hit her before. In all of the years that they'd known each other, he'd only ever raised his voice. He had never ever hit her. Lily tried to put it down to the alcohol, she tried to put it down to the fact that he was quite obviously drunk, but it didn't really help much. Her face stung.

Henry then gently wrapped his arms around her waist. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the touch, considering that he'd just slapped at her.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he whispered, and began to run his lips along her neck. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Will you forgive me?"

Lily sucked in a breath, clutched the towel tightly around her waist, and faintly nodded.

"I'm sorry," she whispered back.

He kissed her again and removed the towel from her chest slowly. She gulped and forced a smile, as he moved his lips up towards hers. She could still smell the alcohol, and she had to stop herself from grimacing. She didn't want to cause another argument.

"Now, why don't we sit back and watch Law and Order together?" He suggested.

"Do you – Do you mind if we don't?" She stuttered nervously. "I'd rather just slip into my pyjamas and head to bed? It was a long journey and I'm feeling rather tired."

"If that's what you really want to do," he said. "I suppose we can finish this episode tomorrow."

"You can," Lily said. "I need to go into town to pick up some bits for Mum's party."

"That's not going to take you all day though, is it?" He said.

No. Lily had only planned for it to take a couple of hours. Then she was going to pop into the ED so that she could see everyone again. She couldn't really tell him that after what he'd just said about everyone though, especially Iain.

"Well, no, but I thought I might…"

Henry sighed, knowing what her real plan was by the sound of her voice. He didn't say anything about it and just lay back on the bed to continue with his episode of Law and Order.

Lily stayed silent as well, but she could tell that he clearly wasn't happy.

 **I wasn't too sure on this chapter, but I hope it seemed okay. There will be loads more Iain and Lily scenes in the next chapter, so stay tuned. Thank you for all of your lovely feedback so far. I'm pleased that people are enjoying the story x**


	4. Chapter 4

**milali: Ahh, thank you! I'm so glad that you enjoyed them. Hopefully Lily will realise it soon, as she needs to before things get worse. I'm glad that you like the story so far. Thank you for reviewing.**

 **Guest: I try to add as many of the characters thoughts as I possibly can. That's a very good idea, I'll try and add those in. Thank you for reviewing.**

 **ReadingxTherapy: He is a horrible man, but I thoroughly enjoy writing about him. Is that weird? I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter and you will soon find out why. Thank you for reviewing.**

Chapter Four

Lily left Henry to sleep the next morning.

She'd woken up early so that she could have a quick shower, and she made sure to cover her face in as much foundation as possible to hide the bruise that Henry had caused. She couldn't have anyone in the ED finding out that he'd hit her, even if it had just been a one-time thing.

Li Na had already left the house so that she could open up the restaurant for breakfast, but Lily was certain that Henry would have no problem with waking up alone. He'd probably just watch an episode of Law and Order, or take himself down to the pub to watch the Football. Lily wasn't worried.

In fact, strolling into town by herself felt quite nice. The sun was out and because everyone was at school and work, it was quiet. She popped into the local café first and picked up a brownie and a cup of tea for a quick breakfast. She had a new book tucked into the top of her handbag, so she sat at a small table by the window and made a start on that.

It was a murder mystery and it gripped her straight away. She liked a good crime, something dark that got you on the edge of your seat. She read the first three chapters, before deciding to leave and make a start on shopping for her mum's party. She checked her phone as she exited the café, but there were no messages from Henry. It was 11:30am. He was either enjoying a really, really long sleep in, or he was just enjoying his time alone a bit too much.

She went into the jewellery shop first to look at a silver locket that she knew her mum had been eyeing up. It was the sort of thing that her father would have bought for her if he were still alive, so she knew that she had to do something. There it was. In the window of the shop, the sunlight bouncing off of the shiny, silver. There was just one problem. It was two hundred pounds. Of course it was though. It was real silver.

"Shit," Lily cursed under her breath, disappointment hitting her straight away.

She turned to walk through the open door of the shop, hands in the pockets of her long, brown coat, and someone was in her face straight away.

"Can I help you at all?" She asked, her voice chirpy and high-pitched.

Her name badge said Audrey.

"I was just browsing," Lily spoke slowly and gestured to the window. "I'm interested in the silver locket that's in the window."

"Let me just get that for you!" She offered and hurried over to the window, before one of her colleagues could get there first.

Lily breathed out heavily and hovered nearby, whilst Audrey collected the locket for her.

"Is this the one?" She asked, carrying it over gently.

Lily looked at it for a few seconds, and carefully took it in her fingers. It was beautiful and she knew how much her mum loved it. She'd even had the idea of putting a photo of her dad inside.

"That's the one, yes," Lily said.

"It's two hundred," Audrey informed her. "But with a twelve month warranty on it."

It was a lot of money.

"Did you want to think about it?" She asked.

"No," Lily whispered, shaking her head. "It's fine. I'll take it, thank you."

"Would you like that gift wrapped for five pounds more?" She then asked.

Lily rolled her eyes and just sighed, "Go on then."

At least she didn't have to worry about wrapping. When she was finished at the jewellery shop, she went to the local supermarket to get the food. They also did cards, so she hoped to get a nice sixtieth birthday card there as well. She assumed that Henry wouldn't have got anything separately, so she made a mental note to write his name on the card as well. He often didn't think of things.

It didn't take Lily long to finish her shop and once she was done, she shoved everything in the boot of the car and headed off in the direction of the ED.

* * *

Luckily, Iain was alone.

After finding out that he and Sam were happily dating, she didn't overly feel like talking to her. It was still a complete shock and selfishly, she hoped that it wouldn't last for long. She was more annoyed at the fact that Iain had promised her that his feelings for Sam were long gone.

Clearly, they weren't.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Iain questioned, jumping down from the ambulance.

"I had to pop into town to pick up some bits for Mum's birthday," Lily told him. "So I thought that I would come and see everyone again."

"People would have thought that you'd missed this place," Iain said.

"I have," Lily admitted. "It might seem weird, but I really enjoyed working here, and I – I may have missed you."

"Well, that isn't surprising," Iain chuckled and took a few steps towards Lily. "I am a missable person."

"Missable?" Lily raised her eyebrows. "That isn't even a word."

"It is now." He shrugged his shoulders. "Come on, you know me. I have a habit of making up words."

"Or just being grammatically incorrect and trying to cover yourself so you don't look stupid," Lily joked.

"You know me too well," Iain said, but his smile quickly turned to a frown.

He took another step towards Lily and brushed some hair out of her face. She'd covered it well, but he wasn't blind and he wasn't stupid.

"What happened?" He whispered softly.

"It doesn't matter," Lily whispered back. "Just leave it, please."

"I can't leave it, Lily," Iain hissed. "Your face is marked. What happened?"

"I – I walked into a door, okay?" Lily lied quickly.

It was the worse lie in the world though.

"Are you kidding?" Iain scoffed. "I'm a paramedic, Lily. That is the number one excuse that people usually use when they are trying to hide something. Now, I'm going to ask you again. What happened?"

"Why can't you just leave it?" Lily snapped through gritted teeth. "It isn't a big deal."

"It is actually," Iain said. "Because I care about you and I don't want you getting hurt. He did this, didn't he?"

Lily stayed silent and chewed anxiously on her lower lip.

"Did Henry hit you?" He asked quietly.

When she didn't answer again, he guessed that he was probably right.

"Lily," he choked out, small tears forming in his eyes. "You are marrying a man who doesn't appreciate how wonderful you are, how special you are."

"It's not his fault, okay?" Lily finally spoke. "We argued and I made him angry. He's never hit me before, Iain. I'm positive that it won't happen again."

"That doesn't give him an excuse to hit you though," Iain said. "It's abuse and it can't carry on."

"It's not abuse," Lily said. "You've lashed out before, haven't you?"

"But I don't hit people," Iain muttered. "It looks sore. Can I take a look?"

"You've had your look already," Lily said, moving her hair again so that it was covering her bruised cheek.

"A proper look," Iain elaborated. "Please."

Lily hesitated, before faintly nodding at him. She stuffed her hands back into her coat pockets and allowed him to run his fingers along her sore cheek. His touch made her flinch, but she stayed rooted to the spot.

"Just put some ice on it," he said. "It should heal in a few days."

"I know," Lily answered back. "I'm a doctor, aren't I?"

"You're just as argumentative as you were when you left," Iain laughed, and there was a pause before he continued. "Just as beautiful too."

"Stop it," Lily whispered, shaking her head at him.

"What?" He asked.

"It's inappropriate," she said. "I'm engaged, and you're with Sam."

She couldn't deny the fact that it was nice to hear Iain call her beautiful. Henry hardly ever complimented her, so it was nice to hear it for a change. When she was with Iain, he'd call her beautiful every single morning and she loved it. She missed it.

"I have to go," she said, realising that she was allowing things to go too far.

"Lily." He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back.

She stumbled and fell against him, as he quickly pressed his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, brushed her hair away from her face, and ran his tongue along the inside of her mouth. For a moment, Lily kissed back. Then after some realisation, she fought against him and pulled herself away.

"What are you doing, Iain?" She accused. "You – You can't just kiss me like that! We're in a relationship! Not with each other, but – Other people and – God! You know what I mean?"

"I'm sorry," he said quickly and held his hands to his face.

Clearing his throat to speak, he looked up and saw that his little sister was standing in the entrance of the ambulance bay. He wondered how long she'd been stood there for, and prayed that she hadn't witnessed the kiss between them. Lily obviously saw that he was staring at something, and turned to have a look.

"Gem."

"Hey stranger," she said, leaning against the wall at an angle. "A little birdie told me that you were back, and I see that you've stumbled into the arms of my brother again."

Lily gulped, unsure of what to say.

"How long have you been stood there for?" She asked nervously.

"I've only just arrived," she said, walking into the station. "It's good to see you again. You do know that my brother has now moved on though, right? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and all."

"Well, I have as well actually," Lily mentioned.

"Really?" Gem frowned.

Lily nodded and pulled her hand out of her pocket to reveal the huge rock on her finger.

"Well, I never," Gem laughed. "Now there's a shock."

"Yes. You missed drinks last night," Lily said.

"I had a day off yesterday, and Iain didn't bother to text me," Gem said. "Knew nothing about it. I work here as a porter now."

"That's wonderful, Gemma," Lily said. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I love it," Gem said. "Trust me, I don't want to go back inside again. I'm a new person now, right Iain?"

"Right," Iain laughed, chewing on his nails anxiously.

"Well, my break is almost over," Gem said, glancing at her watch. "I just wanted to come and say hi."

"Thank you," Lily said. "We will catch up properly sometime, okay? You can meet Henry."

Gem looked confused.

"My fiancé, sorry," Lily said, realising that Gem didn't actually know his name.

"Oh. Cool," Gem said. "Yeah. See you later. Bye bro."

Iain nodded and gave a tiny wave, as Gem turned to exit the ambulance station. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Gem luckily hadn't seen the kiss, and shook his head at Lily.

"That was close," he said. "You better go, before someone else comes back. Or worse, before Sam comes back."

"What?" Lily hissed. "Are we just going to pretend that that didn't happen?"

Iain shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sounds good to me."

"Iain, we can't," Lily whined. "You just kissed me!"

"Keep your voice down, will you?" He hissed and sighed heavily. "Okay, fine. I need to get back to work though, and Sam will be back any minute."

He walked towards her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Lily tensed up, scared but also hopeful that he was going to kiss her again.

"Meet me back here after my shift," he said. "I finish at six."

 **The moment has finally arrived! I hope it was worth the wait. Let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guest: That's good, I'm glad that was in character. I can't really see Lily as the one to jump into things. Hopefully Lily will leave Henry now, but what if that makes things worse? I guess we will just have to wait and see. Sam isn't my favourite character but I do like her and I do feel sorry for her. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **RedBelle94: Let's hope that he doesn't do it again. Poor Lily! Thanks for reviewing.**

 **milali: I do love Gem and I will definitely include her more. We will have to find out, but I can see things slowly getting worse. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **ReadingxTherapy: That does not sound evil at all! Henry is horrible, and Lily and Iain belong together. I'm so pleased that the scene was worth it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Thanks for reviewing.**

Chapter Five

As Lily was about to go and meet up with Iain again, Connie stopped her.

She really was not in the mood for a chat, and if Iain had managed to spot her bruised cheek, then surely Connie would as well. Connie wasn't stupid and she'd seen many injuries in her profession. She couldn't afford for her to find out that Henry had hit her as well, Iain was bad enough. She slowly pivoted so that she was face to face with her, and forced a tiny smile.

Anxiety hit her straight away when she saw that Connie was staring intensely at her, arms folded and lips pursed. She looked serious, like she usually did when one of her members of staff was in trouble, or when a patient was lying to her.

For the first time in ages, Lily felt scared of Connie.

"What can I do for you, Mrs Beauchamp?" She asked.

"You no longer work here, and you still call me that," Connie remarked. "Please, call me Connie."

"Sorry," Lily whispered and folded her arms across her chest. "What can I do for you?"

"Are you free for a quick chat in my office?" She asked. "I won't keep you long."

Lily hesitated. She really didn't want to keep Iain waiting, and she didn't want him to think that she'd stood him up either. Connie clearly wasn't going to let her go without a chat though, so she quickly sent a brief text to Iain, explaining that Connie needed to talk to her and that she would be there as soon as possible. Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she reluctantly followed the clinical lead to her office.

"How are you doing?" Connie asked with a sigh.

"Good, thank you," Lily answered. "I went into town to pick up some birthday bits for my mother."

"And you found yourself back here?" Connie teased.

Lily smiled and anxiously rubbed at the back of her neck.

"I guess so," she laughed. "It's just nice to catch up with people whilst I can. After mum's birthday, I will probably be on my way back to Hong Kong."

"Well, I'm not complaining," Connie said. "It is very nice to see you again."

Lily nodded awkwardly and asked, "Sorry, but was there a reason that you wanted to talk to me? I just – I need to be somewhere."

"I just wanted to ask if you were okay," Connie said. "Your happiness means more to me than anything else, and I would hate to think that you weren't happy at all."

"Of course I am," Lily said and put her hands into the pockets of her smart trousers. "Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Connie was silent for a bit, before asking the question that had been swirling around her brain.

"What happened to your face?" She asked.

"My…My face?" Lily stuttered, automatically raising a hand to her sore cheek, and flinching when she made contact with it.

"I couldn't help but notice it earlier whilst you were walking around," Connie said. "It looks sore. What happened?"

"It's nothing," Lily said, praying that Connie would drop the subject. "Honestly."

Connie sighed and pursed her lips together, whilst faintly nodded. She said nothing else about it, but Lily could tell that there were so many questions that she wanted to ask.

"I just want you to be okay," Connie said. "You understand that, right?"

"Yes," Lily answered. "Of course. I appreciate your concern Mrs Beauchamp, but I am happy."

A small smile spread across Connie's face and for a few seconds, it was as if she believed every word that came out of Lily's mouth.

"You have done so well for yourself, Lily," she said. "You should be proud."

Lily had to blink to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes. Were they happy tears or sad tears? She wasn't sure.

"Can I go now?" She whispered. "Henry will be waiting."

"We'll catch up properly soon, okay?" Connie said, a hint of concern in her voice.

Lily felt terrible. Connie was so worried about her, and she hated that. Why had she lied?

"Sure," Lily said. "I'll – I'll let you know when I'm free."

"I'd like that," Connie said.

As Lily exited the office, she sighed a heavy sigh of relief. She quietly shut the door behind her and walked slowly out of the ED and towards the ambulance station. She hoped that Iain was still there, and that he hadn't got bored and just left. Luckily for her, he was still there. He was sat on the sofa in the office, tapping away on his phone, looking bored.

"Hi," Lily whispered and tapped lightly on the door. "Sorry that I'm late. Mrs Beauchamp wanted to talk to me about happiness."

"That's kind of weird," Iain chuckled, acting as if they hadn't just kissed earlier on that day. "Are you?"

"What?" Lily frowned and stepped further into the room.

"Happy," he said. "Shut the door."

Lily nodded and walked back to shut the door behind her.

"I think so," she sighed.

What even was happiness? Was Henry really the right man for her? Did she like living in Hong Kong or did she want to return to Holby? Was she happy with life in general? There were so many unanswered questions that even she didn't know the answer to. It made her head hurt and her heart ache. She thought she knew who the right man was for her. Iain. What if she was wrong though?

"You don't sound too sure," Iain said, putting his phone away. "Come on. Talk to me."

Lily went to take a seat on the sofa as well, her hands still in her pockets. Iain was being so lovely to her; it was something that she certainly wasn't used to. She didn't really know what to say.

"I don't even know," Lily said. "I thought I loved Henry, I really did, but – He doesn't make me feel good."

"That's not what a relationship is about," Iain said. "You should make each other feel good, every second of every day."

"Does Sam make you feel good?" Lily asked.

Iain hesitated and shrugged his shoulders. "That's a really hard question," he chuckled. "She does, yes, but I don't think I make her feel good."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"I don't know if I love her," Iain said. "I used to, but when we kiss and hug, I – I don't feel anything. She's a great mate and all, but I don't know if she's the one. I don't know if she ever was the one."

He paused before continuing.

"Honestly," he said. "I miss you. I really enjoyed our time together, and I still think about that every day, even though Sam and I are a couple."

"I miss you too," Lily said. "That kiss earlier made me realise how much I loved you, and how much fun I had with you. It wasn't all about the sex either, we were happy without that, and that's what a real relationship is about. You don't need to be having sex every day, you just need to be able to enjoy each other's company."

"Exactly," Iain sighed, and turned to smile at her. "And I can tell that you don't feel that with Henry, do you?"

"Like I said, I thought I did," Lily whispered. "He isn't the man I met though. He's different, and not in a good way."

"So..." He trailed off. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure," Lily said. "What do you want to do?"

"I think I want to be back with the woman who I originally fell in love with," he said. "The woman who had sex with me in a hearse."

Lily laughed and said, "I thought we both promised not to bring that up again. What about Henry though? We're getting married in June. And what about Sam? You can't just leave her, Iain."

Iain ran his hands down his face and groaned, as he tried to think of a solution. Lily was clearly terrified of leaving Henry, and he didn't trust the man. He was so scared that he'd get angry and hurt her, and he couldn't have that happening. He'd blame himself. Sam wasn't a huge problem, but it would still crush her, and he would have to work with her every day. It was all a complete mess.

"I guess we don't have to tell people," he suggested.

"You're not serious," she said. "That's called an affair, Iain. People get into huge trouble for that. Besides, we couldn't do that to Henry and Sam."

"I know," he sighed and gave her knee a comforting rub. "Sorry, this is my fault."

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "Iain. This is not your fault."

"I kissed you," he said. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm putting you in a really difficult position right now."

"I just admitted that I love you," Lily said. "This is both of our faults. Since being back in Holby, I've realised that Henry doesn't make me happy. He doesn't make me feel good like you used to, he doesn't support me, he doesn't appreciate me. I'm miserable, Iain. I – I can't marry him."

"Now, slow down," Iain said. "I want you to think about what you're saying here, Lily. You've always wanted to get married and have a family, and your chance has finally come along."

"But I don't love him," Lily practically cried. "I love you."

"You're not just saying that because I kissed you?" He asked. "You're not just saying that for me?"

Lily slowly shook her head, her face slowly getting closer to Iain's.

"I missed you," she whispered softly in his ear, and gently pressed her lips against his. "I missed you," she repeated.

"I missed you too," he spoke quietly, whilst kissing back.

The two just sat there in the office of the ambulance station, kissing each other in total silence, enjoying the alone time between them. Nothing could ruin that moment.

Nothing at all.

"Hey," Iain said, and pulled away from the kiss. "Why don't we take this over to the ambulance?"

Lily couldn't help but agree, a huge grin on her face, her mind immediately flashing back to thirty six questions that lead to love.

 **A slightly shorter chapter there and more of a filler chapter. I hope you liked it** **though. Things will start to pick up a lot more from here, and there will be lots of cute scenes and dramatic scenes heading your way.**

 **Thank you for all of your support and lovely feedback so far. Let me know what you thought of Chapter 5!**


	6. Chapter 6

**RedBelle94: They are indeed. Let's hope that that doesn't happen. Loads more drama and romantic scenes to come, so stay tuned. Thank you for your review.**

 **Guest: Exactly, no one! It does seem strange but hopefully this chapter clears things up slightly. Loads of drama to come and I'm glad that you're enjoying it. Thank you for your review.**

 **LillyMayFlower: So many problems! I'm really pleased to hear you say that. It made me smile! There will be some more Connie and Lily scenes as I adore their relationship. Thank you for your review.**

 **milali: Thank you, they're adorable together and I miss them. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Six

Lily was tossing and turning all night.

She hated it. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Iain's face and then she saw Henry's face, and it was bright red with anger. Guilt came over her and filled her body, causing her chest to tighten into a huge knot. She couldn't breathe.

Henry was fast asleep beside her, and she could hear her mum snoring from her bedroom next door. She was the only one who was awake.

She swung her legs round and climbed out of bed, tiptoeing quietly over to where her mobile phone sat. She sighed to herself and tried to control her breathing, as she typed out a brief text to Iain.

 _I can't do this. I'm struggling to sleep._

It surprised her when he replied within seconds. She obviously wasn't the only one awake.

 _Same here. We'll talk tomorrow. Fancy a coffee before my shift tomorrow? I start at half eight._

Lily was quick to agree, and she put her phone back down on the table before heading back to bed. She needed to try and get some sleep.

* * *

"Thanks for this," Lily whispered, as Iain set a coffee down in front of her. "I'm probably surviving on about three hours of sleep right now."

"I know. I'm struggling as well," Iain sighed. "Maybe we should just come clean. At least then, everything will be out in the open."

Lily shrugged her shoulders. She didn't say anything, but a single tear rolled down the left hand side of her face. Iain was shocked to see that she was crying, and it worried him.

"I'm scared of him, okay?" She muttered under her breath.

"Henry?" He questioned.

Lily faintly nodded and said, "He's already hit me once. What's stopping him from doing it again?"

Iain hated to hear that Lily was so scared of the man she was meant to marry. It broke his heart. The last thing that he wanted was for her to get hurt.

"I don't want him to hurt you," he said. "So if we do need to keep things secret and on the down low for a while, we can. I want to keep you safe Lily, and I will do everything I can to make sure that it happens."

Lily smiled weakly and happy tears filled her eyes. It felt good to hear that. It felt really good. The two of them talked for a little while longer; they shared old memories and Iain updated Lily on everything that had been going on in the ED during her absence. She nodded her head at his words, smiling the entire time, when she suddenly caught sight of the time on her watch. She couldn't believe it. It had gone so quick.

"You need to be at work soon," she stated.

"You're more important right now," he said.

"More important than being fired?" Lily asked with a wink, as she began to finish off her coffee. "Go on, Iain. You'll be late."

"Well, what about you?" Iain asked.

"I don't know," Lily sighed and turned to look out of the window. "I might just sit in here for a little while longer. I have my book with me."

Iain smiled sympathetically at her, secretly knowing that she was only doing that so she didn't need to go home to Henry. She was terrified of him and she was trying to avoid him in any way possible. It hurt him so much.

"I'm not going to leave you here by yourself," he said. "Why don't you come with me? I have an idea."

"Do you expect me to just sit back and watch you work?" Lily laughed.

"Oh, I'm not going to work," he said, standing up from the table. "So, are you coming?"

"Iain, you'll get in trouble," Lily hissed, but stood up to follow him.

"I'll call in sick," Iain said. "You're not telling me that you've never done that, right? You need to live on the wild side, Lily. Cheering you up is way more important than going to work right now."

"I'm fine," Lily told him and folded her arms. "I feel loads better already."

"I don't believe that," Iain spoke softly and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come on. I promise you that I will keep you safe."

Although Lily was scared that Iain would get into trouble and although she hated the idea of him taking random time off work for her, she reluctantly nodded at him. He took her hand in his and the two of them left together, anxiously looking from side to side and praying that they wouldn't get caught.

Iain drove and Lily had to sit in silence whilst he called in sick via his hands free. She had to try and stifle a small giggle, when he faked a really bad cough. Connie seemed to believe him but Lily wasn't sure. She'd been working as a doctor long enough to know when someone was lying. She tried not to worry though and told herself that everything would be okay.

The car journey was a long one and by the time they arrived, Lily was half asleep. Iain had to shake her to wake her up and when she did, she was pleased with what she saw.

They'd come to a lovely patch of countryside, one of Lily's favourite spots in fact. There was a small cottage that had been empty for years, and it had flowers running along the stone bricks. A huge patch of greenery surrounded it and so did a gorgeous rose garden. Lily had often driven past on the long way home from work, and she longed to be living there some day.

"You remembered?" She asked in shock.

She'd shown Iain the cottage at the very start of their relationship, and she'd also told him her plans of moving in there one day. She was very surprised that he'd remembered.

"I did," he said. "I thought it would cheer you up. Now, I don't have much of a picnic but I have my lunch that I'd packed for work and those cookies that I'd bought in the coffee shop. We could just lie on the grass though, make daisy chains, admire the view. No one will find us here."

It was like a scene out of a romance movie. The atmosphere and the weather were perfect, and it made Lily want to live there even more. She'd always wanted to live in the countryside anyway, but then she'd come across this place and had called it home straight away.

"Do you think I ever will get to live here?" She asked.

"I'm sure you will," Iain said, as the two of them sat on a brick wall outside the cottage. "It depends if you're planning on going back to Hong Kong."

Lily just shrugged her shoulders and bit into a chocolate chip cookie.

"Are you?" He asked. "You've not said much about going back there."

"It's complicated," she whispered. "Henry wants to get married there. In fact, he wants to go back as soon as Mum's birthday is over."

"And you don't?" Iain raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that," Lily sighed. "It's just nice to be back in Holby. I've missed it and I've missed you guys, and I'm not even sure about getting married anymore."

"You don't have to make a decision straight away," Iain comforted. "And you don't have to make a decision that you're not comfortable with. You are your own person Lily, and you shouldn't let him control you. What would your perfect future be?"

Lily thought about it for a second. Once upon a time, she'd had it all planned out. Now, she had no idea what she wanted. One thing that she did know was that it involved Iain.

"Is it possible to love more than one person?" She asked.

Iain had to think about that for a minute. He'd never really thought about it before.

"I think it is, yes," Iain said. "But I don't think it's necessarily that person's fault either. It sounds weird, but you can't help who you fall in love with. Why?"

"I love you so much," Lily said. "I always have done. But although Henry doesn't make me feel good or happy, I think I might still love him as well. It's hard to explain."

"I get that," Iain said. "I do, but tell me honestly here. Is Henry even in your future?"

"I don't think so," Lily said quietly, after a few minutes of thinking, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Am I?" He asked.

"Maybe," Lily said. "I can see myself married to you, with kids, living here."

"Here in Holby?" Iain asked.

"Not just that," Lily shook her head. "Here, in this cottage."

Iain smiled and reached out to take hold of her hand.

"I like that plan," he said. "How many kids?"

"Three," Lily said off the top of her head. "Two girls, one boy."

"And do these kids have names?" Iain asked, a smirk on his face.

He loved hearing about Lily's plans for the future, especially if they involved him. Honestly, he'd never seen his future with anyone else but Lily, not even when he started dating Sam.

"Alice, Danielle, and Billy," she said.

"Nice names," he chuckled and tapped her on the nose playfully. "You have thought about this a lot, haven't you? And will we have any pets? No dogs, because you're allergic."

"You remembered that too?" She asked.

"I remember everything that you tell me," he said.

"I think we would have a cat," she said. "Maybe a couple of guinea pigs for the kids."

"This is turning out to be a wonderful future," he said and leaned across to kiss her on the lips. "Are you happy?"

Taking a deep breath, Lily nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I am when I'm with you," she spoke into his ear. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Chuckles."

"Do you mean that?" Lily asked.

"Of course I do," he said and kissed her again. "And I can't wait for our future together, in this cottage, with our three kids and our pets. I don't mind if it takes months, years for it to happen. I just love being with you."

"I love being with you too," she whispered. "And just so you know, I never stopped thinking about you when I moved to Hong Kong."

"I never stopped thinking about you," he said and rested her head against her chest. "Why don't we go back to my place for a bit?"

"Do you mind if we just stay here?" Lily asked. "I don't think I'm ready to leave just yet."

"If that's what you want," Iain said.

"It is," Lily told him, as she kissed his knuckles. "I just need more time."

 **This chapter took me quite a while to write, as I wasn't sure how to explain the reasons behind the affair etc. I hope it was okay. Thank you to ReadingxTherapy and LillyMayFlower for their help and opinions.**


	7. Chapter 7

**RedBelle94: I'm so glad, and I hope you like this chapter just as much. It did sound like a wonderful future and it's definitely my kind of future as well, haha. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Seven

Over the next week, Lily and Iain did whatever they possibly could to make sure that they were alone. They couldn't really see each other much at home because of Sam and Henry, but they usually went out somewhere. It was quite often far out of Holby in case someone spotted them together, so Lily usually gave Iain some money towards petrol. Sneaking around wasn't easy, and they both felt incredibly guilty, but Iain wanted to do everything that he could to keep Lily safe from getting hurt. They knew that they'd have to come clean eventually, but they just promised to cross that bridge when it came to it and try and enjoy their time together whilst they could.

"Do you think we're doing the right thing?" Lily asked, as the two of them sat and enjoyed our delicious picnic in the park.

"I think so," Iain said, popping a strawberry into his mouth. "These were a good choice. Why would you think differently?"

"I'm not talking about the strawberries," Lily laughed. "I'm talking about our relationship. I don't know, I guess I still worry that someone we know will randomly pop up and see us together."

"I know, me too," he said. "But you are enjoying it, right?"

"Of course," Lily said. "I love you."

"And I love you," he said, leaning across to rub noses with her. "More than anything in the world."

He paused and popped another strawberry into his mouth, before speaking.

"You know what we should do," he said.

"What's that?" Lily asked him.

"We should go away somewhere," he said. "Somewhere special, where we can relax and enjoy our time together without worrying. What do you think?"

"I think that is a very good idea," Lily agreed.

Lily felt herself blush a bright shade of red as Iain spoke to her. She felt so differently when she was around Iain. When she was with Henry, it wasn't that she didn't feel love, but she felt fear and anxiety. She felt scared to talk in case she accidentally said the wrong thing or angered him in any way. When she was with Iain, she felt as if she could say anything without being judged.

* * *

Sam was pleased, yet surprised, to see Iain in the office of the ambulance station.

They'd been dating for quite a while but ever since Lily had returned, she'd hardly seen him and she couldn't help but feel annoyed by it. She was worried that Iain's feelings for Lily were returning. He'd been so hung up on her and so upset when she'd left for Hong Kong.

"Hey gorgeous," he complimented when he saw her.

"Don't call me that," she said.

"Okay," he chuckled. "Hey ugly. Was that what you wanted to hear?"

"Iain," she hissed in that tone that told him otherwise.

"Sorry," he sighed. "Not in the mood for jokes, huh? What's wrong?"

"What do you think, Iain?" Sam snapped. "We're supposed to be in a relationship and we have hardly seen each other."

"Sorry," he muttered and shrugged his shoulders. "I've been busy, haven't I? Work hasn't exactly been easy lately."

"Really?" Sam asked. "Because I do the same job as you and I've been okay."

"Well," he sighed, trying to think of something else instead. "I guess I've just had other things on my mind."

Sam pursed her lips together and said, "Like Lily for example?"

Iain hung his head and bit on his lip nervously. Uh-oh! Did Sam seriously know that he and Lily were seeing each other behind her back? He thought that they'd been so careful. He didn't realise that Sam had her suspicions.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Sam then asked.

"What?" Iain's voice suddenly went really high-pitched as he tried to lie his way out of it. "Are you crazy? No! No way! Lily is old news."

"Are you sure about that?" Sam asked. "Because it doesn't look like it from where I'm standing."

"Look," Iain sighed and anxiously rubbed at the back of his neck. "My feelings for Lily are gone. I'm just a bit concerned about her right now."

"Why?" Sam asked, clearing her throat.

"Because I don't think this new boyfriend treats her right," Iain said. "She deserves someone better."

Sam couldn't believe what she was actually hearing. At the end of the day, Lily was old enough to make her own decisions and she didn't need Iain there to hold her hand. Iain was her boyfriend, not Lily's, and he'd hardly spent any time with her. She didn't want to come across as jealous, but she did want Iain to come clean and honestly tell her if he still had feelings for Lily.

"Lily is a grown woman," Sam said. "I'm sure she can take care of herself."

"That still gives him no excuse though," Iain said. "Lily is still a good friend of mine, Sam. I want to be there for her, just like I want to be there for all of my friends."

"You and Lily have history though," she said. "There's no denying that, so excuse me for having my suspicions."

"What on earth is wrong with you two?" Iain laughed. "First Lily, and now you."

He had clear memories of Lily's jealousy towards Sam, back when they were going out. It had almost jeopardised their relationship, but luckily things had ended on good terms.

"I just know how upset you were when she left," Sam said. "And I'm sorry Iain, but you have been distant lately!"

"I'm sorry. I'll try harder," Iain said.

"I'm not asking you to try harder," Sam said. "I'm asking you to be honest with me."

"I am," Iain whispered, subtly crossing his fingers behind his back. "I promise."

He felt sick. Things had started to get messy.

* * *

"So, you're actually in tonight then?"

Lily set a plate of roast beef and vegetables down in front of her fiancé and went back to grab her own plate. She said nothing in response to his question until she sat down.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"You've been out an awful lot lately," he remarked. "I was beginning to forget what you looked like."

"Don't be ridiculous," Lily scoffed, as she cut into her meat. "I've been getting bits ready for Mum's party."

"And it takes that much preparation, does it?" He asked.

She was busted. It was obvious that he didn't believe her. Did he realise how much time she'd been spending with Iain? Was he going to hit her again? She suddenly felt her chest tighten, and the idea of tucking into her meal suddenly didn't seem as nice as it had done. She'd lost her appetite completely.

"Well, it wouldn't usually," Lily sighed. "But I've been doing it alone."

"What are you saying?" He accused, his voice slowly growing louder.

Lily sighed and rubbed at her forehead in frustration. She wasn't going to get anywhere with him.

"It would just be easier to have a bit of help every now and then, that's all," Lily said. "You could have helped me cook dinner."

"I don't think so," he chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Everyone knows that it's the woman's job to do the cooking."

"What?" Lily frowned.

She couldn't believe what he'd just said. Although she felt angry at his words, they also hurt her as well. She'd always believed men and women to be angry and when she'd been with Iain, he'd always offered to share the cooking with her. In fact, he'd done most of the cooking.

"I'm just saying," he said, as he tucked into his food. "Besides, it seems as if you could do with the practice, eh?"

"It tastes okay to me," Lily mentioned, shrugging her shoulders.

"I might just order a takeaway," he said casually, pushing his plate away with a disgusted look on his face. "Would your mum want anything?"

"Um – No," Lily stuttered and shook her head. "She's working late at the restaurant tonight."

"Okay." He nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Lily cleared her throat and forced a smile. "Aren't you going to ask me?" She asked.

"No," he scoffed. "You made that, didn't you? You can eat it."

Lily sighed and set her fork down on the edge of her plate. She didn't feel very hungry anyway.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lily asked, without turning to look at him.

She couldn't. She had no idea what his eyes were saying, whether he looked angry or not, and she honestly didn't want to know either.

"What's that then?" He sighed.

It didn't sound as if he really cared.

"Do you – Do you actually like me?" Lily asked in a small, childlike whisper.

"Of course I do!" He shouted, causing her to flinch in her seat. "I'm marrying you, aren't I? What is it with your huge desire to be liked by everyone?"

"I don't have a desire to be liked by everyone," Lily mentioned. "But it's just the way you say things to me sometimes."

"Maybe if you stopped saying stupid things, then I wouldn't have to talk to you like that," Henry said. "Stop blaming me for things, alright?"

"Sorry," Lily muttered under her breath. "I'm going to go and have a bath. I'm feeling quite tired."

He didn't answer her though. He was too busy dialling the number for the local Chinese.

 **So things are starting to get messy. Henry is suspicious, Sam is suspicious, and Lily and Iain just don't know what to do bless them. Let's hope that** **they manage to book a holiday away together though.**

 **Loads more of this story to come, although I do have a slight writers block now lol. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter x**


	8. Chapter 8

**milali: Thank you and I think you could be right there. There will be loads more drama and cuteness to come. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and thank you for your review.**

 **RedBelle94: Indeed it has! Somehow I don't think that is going to end well. There is talk of it in this chapter so we will see what happens. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Eight

Gemma Dean wheeled the stack of notes over to the desk, and was surprised to see Lily stood before her.

Gem loved having Lily back in Holby. She was her only friend, the only person who understood her, and she'd helped her so much with her spelling and her maths. They'd had some problems, for example the time when Gem had knocked Lily down with Iain's car, but they swore not to talk about that ever again. Things were better after that and although Gem went back to prison, she left whilst on good terms with Lily. She had to admit that she thought Lily was only helping her so that she could get close to Iain, but it wasn't true. She really did care and she really did want to help Gem.

The ex registrar was rummaging through some paperwork, as if she'd never even left, and she didn't seem to understand the confused look on the teen's face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gem asked, abandoning her trolley in the meantime.

"I promised Mrs Beauchamp that I would help out for a bit," Lily whispered to her.

However, she didn't realise that Connie was stood right behind her, and that she had just heard every word that she'd just said.

"Well, you better remind me then because I don't remember that conversation," she said, arriving at Lily's side. "Whose work is this?"

"Ethan's," Lily sighed. "He said that I could help."

"Well, why don't we give that back to him and you can come to my office for a chat?" Connie said, slowly removing the paperwork from Lily's hand.

Lily exchanged glances with Gem, and walked alongside Connie towards the office.

"Don't you have party plans to take care of?" Connie asked, quietly shutting the door behind them. "A fiancé to spend time with, a wedding to plan?"

"I haven't got much left of mum's party," Lily told her. "Henry is busy as well. There's loads of time for wedding plans."

"Are you sure?" Connie asked.

She didn't look as if she believed Lily at all, and it actually made Lily feel quite sick. She was slowly running out of lies.

"Lily. What's really going on?" She asked her.

"Nothing, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily sighed deeply. "I was just preparing myself." She paused, before continuing. "Henry has said that we can come back to Holby."

"Really?" Connie narrowed her eyebrows at her. "Because he seemed to have his heart set on going back to Hong Kong. That was what I thought anyway."

"People change their minds, don't they?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Believe me, I'm just as shocked as you are."

"Okay." Connie nodded. "So, I assume that you're expecting to return to your position here within the ED, are you?"

"That's what I was hoping," Lily said. "If it's okay with you, that is."

Connie sighed and shook her head. Lips pursed, arms folded, she cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair. She would have loved for Lily to return, she really would have, but they'd already hired new staff.

"I understand if it's a problem though," Lily continued.

"It's not that it's a problem, Lily," the clinical lead told her. "It's if there's any room for you. We have Rash, Bea, and quite frankly we weren't looking at hiring anyone else. We didn't think that you were coming back."

"Right," Lily sighed heavily and tried to hide her disappointment.

It was so hard though. She didn't want to go back to Hong Kong, she couldn't. She missed Holby so much, and she wanted to stay with Iain.

"But…" Connie continued, and hopes filled Lily immediately. "Maybe we can look into it. I don't know, trial a week or something, but I'm sure that we can figure something out."

"Thank you," Lily said gratefully. "I would appreciate that."

"Well, why don't you take a break today?" Connie suggested. "I'm pleased that you're so keen, but Ethan really has to do his own work. I'll talk to Charlie, and we will see what we can do."

Lily nodded, trusting Connie's words, and left the office in silence. As soon as she shut the door behind her though, fear hit her like a tonne of bricks.

"Were you in trouble?" Gem asked, making her way over to Lily with a smirk on her face.

It was as if she'd been hovering outside, waiting for every gory detail of Lily and Connie's chat.

"Why would I be in trouble?" Lily questioned.

Gem shrugged her shoulders and said, "I just wondered. Ethan clearly hadn't told you that you could help him out."

Lily sighed impatiently and ran a hand through her hair.

"Haven't you got any patients to deal with?" She asked. "Any floors to clean?"

"No, I actually wanted to ask you something," Gem said.

Uh-oh. Once again, Lily started to feel sick. She should have known that someone was bound to find out about her and Iain sooner or later. She hated it. Every time she spoke to someone, she just worried that they knew what was going on, and that they'd go and snitch to Henry or Sam.

"What?" She whispered and chewed on her lip until she could taste blood.

"I was just wondering if you were able to help me with my maths again," Gem said. "We both know that the last exam didn't exactly go to plan, and I'd like to pass eventually, just so I know that I can do it."

"You seemed to be improving immensely though," Lily said.

"It's not enough," Gem mumbled. "Come on Lily, I need you."

Lily laughed and wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulder.

"Sure," she agreed. "I'll give you a hand."

"Thanks."

* * *

"I have a question for you," Iain sang, as he pranced into the staffroom with a brochure in hand.

Lily was alone, sipping at the steaming cup of tea that she'd just made. She looked upset but a smile immediately spread across her face when she saw Iain.

"You're not proposing already, are you?" Lily teased.

"Would you like me to?" Iain asked and slammed the brochure down on the coffee table in front of her. "No. I'm talking about five sunny nights in the country that is Spain."

"Spain?" Lily raised her eyebrows and she set her cup down onto the table. "When you said holiday, I thought you meant a weekend by the coast or something."

"What?" Iain frowned. "You don't fancy Spain?"

"It's not that," Lily said. "But people will get suspicious if we're away for that long."

"I guess," Iain sighed and sat down next to her. "I just wanted to take you somewhere special."

"We can still do that," Lily said. "It doesn't need to be abroad and it doesn't need to be for long."

"Where were you thinking then?" He asked.

"I'm not too sure," Lily said.

Lily thought for a second and took a deep breath. Silence lingered over them, as she tried to think of places that she liked or that she wanted to visit. One place that she thoroughly enjoyed was Brighton, because it had always been somewhere that reminded her of her dad. He'd taken her mother there on their first date, and Li Na never hesitated to tell Lily the story every now and then. Lily missed her father dearly, and she thought about him each and every day. Brighton was supposedly lovely, and it was fairly easy to travel to. Also, they could spend the weekend there without anyone having suspicions of their whereabouts.

"What about Brighton?" She suggested. "My dad used to love it there."

"Brighton sounds nice," Iain said. "I haven't been there in years."

"We could go for the weekend," Lily said. "I could tell Henry that I'm babysitting Grace for Mrs Beauchamp or something. He'd understand."

Iain nodded and reached across to give Lily's hand a squeeze. Lily's eyes fixed themselves on his knuckles for a few seconds, before slowly making their way up to his face.

"What would you tell Sam?" She whispered softly.

"I'll think of something," he sighed. "I could tell her that I'm visiting an old friend or something. She doesn't need to know where or who my friends are."

"I'm kind of nervous," Lily giggled.

The thought of going away with Iain did make her feel excited inside, but it was the fact that they were lying to their loved ones and that no one knew about their hidden relationship. It made her feel like a dirty person.

"Me too," Iain said. "But we'll have a good time, and we'll forget Holby and everything in it as soon as we arrive in Brighton."

His words made Lily feel a little better. Fish and chips by the sea, ice cream, arcade games, and walks along the sand at sunset; everything sounded so perfect and as each second passed, excitement seemed to push aside the nerves.

"Will Sam be okay on her own?" Lily asked. "She won't be annoyed?"

"Why would she be?" Iain shrugged. "I'm allowed to have my own life and if I'm saying that I'm seeing a friend, then she should respect that."

Iain then noticed the look on Lily's face and realised what she was getting at. Of course, Henry wasn't like other partners, was he? Even if Lily were seeing her mum or a friend, he'd flip. He liked to have her for himself, which was completely unacceptable, and Lily didn't deserve it at all.

"You shouldn't have to feel scared of him, you know?" Iain said. "You've got me."

* * *

"Have you seen my brother at all?" Gem asked Sam when she arrived at the ambulance station, her notebook under her arm.

"Sorry, I haven't," Sam sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Believe me, I would love to know where he is. He seems to be doing a lot of disappearing acts lately."

"Really?" Gem asked. "Interesting."

"You're telling me," Sam said. "Hey. What do you have there?"

"Oh, it's just my notebook," she said. "Lily said that she'd help me out with my maths again, so I thought that we could maybe do a bit later."

"I can always help you," Sam said. "I'm pretty good at maths myself."

"You?" Gem questioned.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Sam's offer. She'd just always got on so well with Lily, and honestly she didn't feel as if Sam was right for her brother.

"Sure. What is it that you need help with?" Sam asked her.

"Fractions mostly," Gem said. "You any good with those?"

Sam sat Gem down on the back of the ambulance, whilst she talked her through fractions. It was no use though. Sam didn't explain things as well as Lily, and everything just seemed twice as complicated. Sam even scribbled stuff down in the notebook for her, but it still didn't make sense. It was useless.

Sam was lovely and she appreciated the help when Lily was busy, but Gem just wished that Iain and Lily were still together.

 **So this chapter was mostly focused on Gem. Thank you for all your feedback so far, and apologies I haven't updated in a while. It has been such a horrible week and I've had no energy or motivation at all. Let me know what you think of the chapter x**


	9. Chapter 9

**LillyMayFlower: Aww, thank you. I did enjoy that line myself, so I'm pleased that a wonderful author like yourself enjoyed it as well. Thank you for your review.**

 **RedBelle94: I really like Gem and I'm getting a bit more used to Sam as well now. That could happen, but let's hope that it doesn't. They do need to be careful around Henry though. There will be more Brighton scenes to come. Thank you for your review.**

 **milali: There will be loads more of that to come. I love Gem and I do include her a lot in my stories. This week has been a lot better for me, thank you. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Nine

"It was a really good idea to have a last meal in Holby before we go away," Lily said, as she scanned over the menu.

Everything just looked so good. She had no idea what she wanted to go for. Iain had been talking about steak all day so he'd obviously already made his decision, but she quite fancied a steak herself now.

"Well, I want this weekend to be special," Iain said, reaching across to give her hand a rub.

Lily smiled lovingly across the table at him and ran her thumb over his knuckles, but something in the background caught her eye. There was a flash of red, and familiar sight of a familiar man stood talking to one of the waiters.

"Iain! Get down!" Lily ordered, and pulled him under the table with her by the arm.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He yelled in such a high-pitched voice that a couple from the table next to them looked close to walking out. "What are you doing?" He asked in a quieter voice. "Are you a child?"

"Dylan's here," Lily hissed, keeping a tight grip on his arm.

"What?" Iain hissed back. "Dylan?"

"He's over there," Lily said through gritted teeth.

Iain went to sit up straight but hit his head on the table and suddenly remembered that Lily had dragged him under. She stifled a giggle, as he moved his head to try and look subtly across to where Dylan was stood. He gasped when he saw that Lily was right.

"What do we do?" She asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I guess it doesn't overly matter if he sees us. We're friends, right? Can't friends have dinner together?"

"Are you kidding?" She scoffed. "With our history? He's bound to get suspicious, Iain."

"Well, we can't hide under here forever," he stated and rolled his eyes. "Thank God no one can find us in Brighton."

"You're telling me," Lily whispered.

Someone cleared their throat and they both popped their heads out from underneath the table to see a waiter standing above them.

"Are you ready to order?" He questioned, looking stunned to see a couple of adults hiding under a table.

"Sorry, mate," Iain apologised. "She um…She lost an earring. We've got it now. We're still trying to decide what we want though."

The waiter rolled his eyes in annoyance and strolled away to take someone else's order. The two of them slowly slid back into their seats, holding the menus high to try and their faces. If Dylan saw them, they'd be done for. They just couldn't take the risk.

"Has he gone?" Iain whispered.

"Why do I have to look?" Lily asked, but peered over the top of her menu anyway.

She gulped anxiously when she saw Dylan collect his food and exit the restaurant.

"Yes, he's gone," she said.

"That was so close," Iain sighed, as they placed their menus down.

They sat in silence for a while, trying to get over the complete shock and fear of what had just happened. They'd almost been caught. Exchanging glances with each other though, they couldn't help but just burst into fits of hysterical laughter.

* * *

Lily and Iain were both very much looking forward to their trip.

There was no denying the fact that they were absolutely terrified as well though. Brighton was a long way from Holby so there was no possible way of them bumping into anyone that they knew, but the fear and the nerves were still there. What if their lies didn't work? What if someone somehow found out what they were really doing that weekend? Their lives would be over.

"Right," Iain groaned, as he slammed the boot shut.

Gem had left for work early that morning, so Lily had come over afterwards with her suitcase packed and ready for their weekend away.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked, turning to Lily who was stood with her back against the car door.

"I think so," Lily sighed.

"For someone who's going to be spending the weekend by the coast, you don't sound too excited," Iain remarked. "Is everything okay? You're not…on your period or anything, are you?"

"Gross," Lily hissed, grimacing as she whipped her head round to face him. "No! I'm just worried."

"Me too," Iain said. "But we've really been looking forward to this, haven't we? We can't let our nerves ruin the weekend for us."

He gave her a gentle smile and walked over to wrap his arms around her neck. Lily breathed in his scent and smiled with him, as his lips made contact with her skin.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Lily whispered back.

Lily had never been one to cheat, and she did feel terribly about going behind Henry and Sam's backs. It was the only way to stay safe though. They'd come clean eventually, when the right moment had approached.

"Come on," Iain said. "Let's hit the road, alright? We can stop off at a service station for breakfast."

Lily nodded against him, and the two of them went to climb into the car. Iain plugged in his phone and put his music on shuffle, before starting the engine and pulling away from the flats. As soon as they hit the road, excitement filled them. They were actually doing it. They were actually heading out on an adventure, to another place where they didn't have to keep their relationship a secret. They couldn't wait.

"So what's the plan then?" Lily asked, slipping her sunglasses onto her face. "What are we going to do when we get there?"

"Well, we'll arrive around lunchtime," Iain said. "We can unpack and head out to find a nice restaurant or something."

"And then?" Lily asked. "Come on, Iain. You know how I like to have a plan."

"Well." Iain shrugged his shoulders. "We can walk along the beach with an ice-cream, maybe play a few games in the arcade, before going back to the hotel for some room service and a cuddle."

"Just a cuddle?" Lily teased, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Well…" Iain trailed off and smiled across at her. "Maybe a little more than that if you were up to it."

"I think that sounds absolutely wonderful," Lily said. "Although we do need to save some stuff for the rest of the weekend."

"Don't worry, Chuckles," Iain said and leaned across to give her leg a comforting rub. "We have plenty of time to fit everything in."

They drove in silence for a little while, Lily absent-mindedly scrolling through Facebook on her phone. There weren't many posts from her colleagues and there weren't any messages from Henry or her mum either. Iain indicated to turn left and they took a road up towards the service station. It had a variety of places to grab some breakfast; Subway, McDonalds, M&S, WH Smith, Costa.

"I don't know about you, but I could really do with a bacon sandwich," he said, locking the car and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Oooo, me too," she said, licking her lips. "Costa then, is it?"

"I think so," he laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

It was such a long drive to Brighton, so washing down a bacon sandwich with a lovely cup of tea really helped boost their energy. Lily was able to take a little nap on the way there and she had offered to drive so that Iain could have a sleep as well, but he'd insisted that he was fine.

They arrived just after one o'clock, both absolutely starving and exhausted from being on the road for so long.

"Why don't we leave unpacking until later?" Iain asked. "I'm shattered."

"I did offer to drive," Lily said, as they unloaded the suitcases from the car.

"I know," he chuckled. "But I could do with a nap."

"Me too to be honest," Lily yawned, even though she'd slept in the car. "Why don't we have a sleep, and then we could grab some fish and chips to eat on the beach?"

"Perfect," he said and kissed her on the lips.

He loved being able to kiss her without the worry of anyone spotting them. In Brighton, they could be themselves. There was no sneaking around; no worries, and no one there even knew that they were having an affair with each other. It was as if they were two completely different people.

They checked into the hotel and took the lift up to their room. They were in Room 101 on one of the very top floors. They had a gorgeous view of the beach though, and there wasn't a single speck of dust in the room. It was perfect and they already felt as if they were at home.

"I wish that we could stay here," Lily said, as she opened the doors that led out onto a patio.

"Me too," Iain said and went to stand next to her. "We have all day tomorrow though. Why don't we climb into bed for a couple of hours, eh?"

Lily nodded in agreement and wrapped her arms around Iain's neck, leaning in to give him a loving and passionate kiss on the lips.

* * *

Henry wasn't sure why he'd decided to pop into the ED that day. Maybe he wanted to check up on Lily, and see whether or not she really was babysitting. She'd been disappearing an awful lot lately and it seemed weird of her old boss to randomly ask her to look after her daughter for the weekend. Where was Connie going to be during the night? She couldn't have been working all day and all night.

"Mrs Beauchamp," he greeted, when he eventually found her after questioning three members of staff.

"Henry," he sighed.

She had to be honest; he wasn't really the first person on her list of people that she wanted to see.

"What can I do for you?" She asked. "Lily isn't here."

"Oh, I know," he said, smirking to himself. "She's babysitting your daughter for the weekend, right? Georgina, is it?"

"Grace," Connie corrected him, confused. "And no she…."

Before she could continue, she caught sight of the look on Henry's face. She recognised the look from the first time she saw him. It was a look of pure anger. She didn't know where Lily was, she didn't know why she'd told Henry that she was looking after Grace, but she really did not want Lily to be in any danger. She deserved someone better. She deserved a nice man, and in her eyes, Henry certainly wasn't nice.

"Sorry," she added quickly. "Yes. Yes, she is looking after Grace for me."

"Are you sure about that?" He chuckled.

"I'm at work again after a twelve hour shift, Mr Kellerman," Connie said. "Forgive me for being a little confused to begin with."

"Right, of course, I do apologise," he said.

His apology didn't seem genuine though, and it made Connie feel even more suspicious. She wasn't too fussed about him though. It was Lily that she was worried about. She'd obviously lied to him and told him that she was babysitting Grace, so where the hell was she? She reminded herself to send her a text later on when she'd finished work, but she wasn't even sure if she'd reply.

She just hoped that she was okay and not in any danger at all.

 **I don't think this chapter was my best to be honest, but I hope you still enjoyed it. I apologise for the long wait in updating, but I'd had a slight writers block and wasn't quite sure where to take the chapter.**

 **Thank you to RedBelle94 for her help and opinion on this chapter x**


	10. Chapter 10

**RedBelle94: Thank you so much. I am a bit happier with this chapter to be honest. I do adore the Connie and Lily relationship and you will always see it in my stories, even if it's just a small scene. I think you'll enjoy this chapter. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Ten

 _"Lily, it's Connie. Is everything okay? I'm just worried. I won't say what's happened, but I just want to know where you are and if you're in trouble at all. Please text me to let me know that you're safe. You know that you can always speak to me, right? I won't tell anyone what you've said and I certainly won't judge you or hold anything against you. Anyway, I'm going off on one here. Just text me. Please."_

* * *

It took Lily a good couple of minutes to realise where she was when she woke up the next morning. It was as if she'd been asleep for years, but she now felt fully refreshed and ready to start the day.

Sun shone through the window, the sound of happy and excitable laughter could be heard from downstairs, the clean room was sparkling, and Iain lay snoring peacefully beside her. Of course, they were in a hotel room on their weekend away in Brighton.

Iain soon opened his eyes and stretched out, before rolling over to face Lily.

"Hi," he whispered, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hi," she whispered back, smiling happily from ear to ear.

"I love waking up with you," he said and leaned over to kiss her.

Lily looked gorgeous, considering the fact that she'd only just woken up. Her hair was brushed beautifully out of her eyes, her skin was lovely and smooth, her brown eyes gazed lovingly upon him, and her smile was something that Iain could look at every day for the rest of his life. He'd never felt like that about anyone before.

"I love waking up with you too," she replied, stretching to wake herself up. "It's such a beautiful morning as well. What do you want to do today?"

"Whatever you like," he said.

It was only half past eight and they had the whole entire day to themselves. No interruptions, no suspicions, no Sam and certainly no Henry. The world was their oyster.

They both showered first before getting the lift to go down to the hotel's lobby to enjoy a buffet breakfast. As they walked through the doors of the lift, Lily tripped and fell flat on her face. Knowing that she hadn't seriously injured herself in any way, Iain had to laugh at her clumsiness.

"Don't just stand there," she said and held her arm out to him. "Help me up."

Shaking his head at her, Iain reached down to help her to her feet. Just as he did though, Lily pulled him down with her and he landed straight on top of her.

"What the hell are you doing?" He yelled, completely baffled by her actions.

He couldn't help but smile though. This was a new side to Lily, a fun and jokey side that he hadn't seen before. He liked it.

"It's your own fault," she giggled and pressed her lips against his.

"Oh, Chuckles," he laughed in between kisses.

The two of them just remained in a pile on the floor, kissing, when the lift doors opened again to reveal an elderly couple waiting to get in. They stared, gobsmacked, at Lily and Iain. The young couple just burst into hysterical laughter though before awkwardly scrambling to their feet.

There was a whole range of choices for breakfast from: cereals, bacon, sausages, toast, muffins, fruit, hot drinks and cold drinks. They were both stuffed by the time they were finished and decided to take a stroll into town first.

* * *

" _Lily, it's Connie. Listen, could you give me a call as soon as possible please? I'm a bit worried. The thing is that Henry turned up at the ED randomly and he mentioned something about you looking after Grace for the weekend? Now, I sorted it and I covered for you, but I know that it isn't true. I just want to make sure that you're okay."_

* * *

"How about some fun on the arcade?" Iain asked, as they walked hand in hand through the beautiful town of Brighton. "I can try and win you a teddy bear."

"How old am I?" Lily giggled, but she agreed anyway.

Being with Iain brought out the secretive fun side in her. It was a very rare sight to see that side of Lily, as she hardly ever showed it to anyone. Iain was different though. He loved to have fun and he loved to have a laugh, and Lily liked that about him. He was a dork, he'd try and make her watch his entire collection of Batman films, and he'd speak in a variety of different accents to try and make her laugh, but she loved him. She loved him more than anything in the world.

"You do know that you hardly ever win on these things, right?" Lily mentioned to him, as they walked into the arcade and over to the nearest crane machine. "They're completely fixed."

"Are you kidding?" He scoffed, slotting a couple of pound coins into the machine. "I'm a professional. I always used to win stuff for Gem when we were kids."

"Of course you did," Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.

She leaned against the glass with her arms folded across her chest, whilst Iain frustratingly struggled to win Lily a bear. It took him about four attempts and almost all of his change, until he managed to grab a white paw of a bear and keep hold of it. The crane moved towards the box and dropped the stuffed animal into it.

Lily gasped and squealed, "I can't believe you just did that!"

"I told you, I'm a professional." Iain shrugged his shoulders, got the bear out and handed it to his girlfriend.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Lily laughed. "He's adorable. Thank you."

"What are you going to name him?" Iain asked.

"I could name him Iain," Lily said, linking arms with Iain and leaning up to kiss him on the lips.

"Now, what are you implying?" He teased. "I don't look like that."

"You are my cuddly teddy bear though," Lily said. "Come on. Where are we going next?"

They carried on through the town for a little while, taking a moment to look in a few little gifts shops. Lily treated Iain to a little Brighton key ring as a joke and a souvenir of their time together. For lunch, they grabbed fish and chips and ate them on a wall overlooking the beach. Because of what a lovely weekend it was, the beach was packed full of couples and kids making the most of the weather. It was a beautiful sight and Lily only wished that she'd be able to take her own kids to the beach one day. She'd always wanted to be a mum, and she wanted nothing more than to spoil her children rotten with day trips and treats.

"Hey." Iain nudged her arm, quickly snapping her out of her trance. "What are you thinking about?"

"Not much," she answered him. "Just the future."

"I think about the future a lot," he sighed, shovelling a few more chips into his mouth.

"Me too," Lily said. "I might take a photo of this. Hold my food."

Iain nodded and took Lily's lunch from her, so that she could look around in her bag and her pockets for her phone.

"Shoot," she said, too polite and proper to curse. "I think I left it in the hotel."

"Well, never mind," Iain said, passing it back to her. "I can take the photos on my phone and send them to you."

"Thank you," Lily said.

* * *

" _Lily, it's Connie again. I'm sorry to keep ringing you like this, but I really need to know where you are. Please, just ring me back when you can. I haven't said anything to Henry, okay? I wouldn't, not without your permission. I just care, Lily."_

* * *

It was slowly starting to get dark, and the sun was setting and creating a beautiful picture on the sparkling sea. Iain had taken tonnes of photos on his phone, promising Lily that he'd send them to her as soon as they were back in the hotel. Lily held Iain bear close to her chest and looked out over the water with small, happy tears forming in her eyes. The two of them decided to end the day by heading to the small funfair that was on the pier. Lily had always hated funfairs, but Iain had convinced her that it would be a lot of fun.

"What about the ghost train?" Iain asked, attempting to make scary ghost noises in Lily's ear.

"You can count me out," she laughed. "We could have a go on the Kentucky Derby, unless you're scared of getting beaten by a girl."

"Horse racing?" Iain raised an eyebrow at her. "Count me in."

Lily was the green horse, whilst Iain was the blue. There were those two, a man and his little girl all playing against each other. The little girl ended up winning, and she only looked about eight, but Iain and Lily couldn't really be annoyed about that. They were both as competitive as each other, but she was cute and she looked super happy when the man handed her the prize.

A giant stuffed dog.

"I don't even know where I'd put that, I bet her dad's pleased," Lily joked, as they walked away. "Not!"

"It was twice the size of her," Iain chuckled. "Still, at least we had fun."

"I've had a lovely day," Lily whispered.

"Brighton is beautiful," Iain said, stopping so that he could cup her face in his hands.

"It's not just because I'm in Brighton," Lily said. "It's because I'm with you. You make me happy, Iain. Today has seriously been one of the best days of my life. I've loved every minute. For the first time in ages, I haven't felt anxious or scared or alone. I've felt…like my old self again. Like…Lily Chao."

Iain smiled lovingly down at her and gently kissed her on the lips. Lily didn't hesitate to kiss back, running her tongue along the inside of his mouth, as the seagulls sung beautifully in the background. The fairground music rung in their ears, kids squealed happily as various families began to make their way back to their hotels. Iain pulled away, his arms now wrapped around Lily's tiny waist. His smile stayed put, showing off the dimples that Lily adored so much. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

For a moment, for a small second, the two of them forgot about their life back home. Until they were back in their hotel room, they'd completely forgot about Sam and Henry. They were having an affair with each other, but neither of them felt guilty about it anymore.

They were in love. They were happy, because no one knew about them. They would tell people when the time was right.

 **This was probably one of my favourite chapters to write. It isn't like my usual writing either as my writing is usually quite dark and angsty, so it was nice to try something different for a change.**

 **I hope you liked it anyway. Also, a huge GOOD LUCK to everyone who is sitting GCSE's at the moment or any other exams. You'll all be great x**

 **A big thank you to RedBelle94 as well who gave me the idea of the messages and the trick where Lily pretended to fall over x**


	11. Chapter 11

**ReadingxTherapy: Thank you so much! This chapter is a little different than the last. Thank you for your review.**

 **RedBelle94: Thank you, same to you as well. There are a few questions in this chapter. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Eleven

When Lily and Iain arrived back in Holby, Lily suddenly went really quiet.

She just climbed out of the car and froze. She went extremely pale and gripped the door handle until her knuckles turned white. Iain grabbed the suitcases from the boot and glanced over at her with a look of concern.

"Lily," he spoke. "Is everything okay?"

Lily didn't say a word to him though. She didn't even turn to look at him. Her feet were planted firmly on the ground, and the only movement she made was moving her hand from the handle to her chest.

"Lily, it's okay." Iain set the suitcases down on the floor and went to stand at her side. "Can you hear me?"

Again, there was no movement and no sound. By now, Iain was seriously worried about her. It was as if she'd gone into a sudden state of shock and he wasn't even sure why. Nothing had happened in the car, not that he could remember anyway. The only thing that Iain did know was that he needed to try and make her realise that she was in a safe place and that he was there for her.

"It's just you and me, Lily," Iain whispered. "I'm not going anywhere. You're safe."

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and stroked it with the tip of his thumb.

"Do you want to try and go inside?" He whispered gently.

Lily eventually managed a faint nod and reached for his hand. Iain nodded back at her and guided her slowly into the building, before going back for the suitcases.

"I'll make you a cup of tea," Iain said when they were back in his flat.

He knew that Gem and Sam were both at work, so luckily they had the flat to themselves.

"Do you want to talk about what happened there?" He asked, carrying the steaming mug of tea over to her. "You really scared me."

Lily muttered a small apology to him, and shook her head. She was so embarrassed. She didn't even know what had happened, but the sudden thought of seeing Henry again had terrified her.

"You don't have to go home straight away," Iain told her, guessing that Henry probably had something to do with it.

"I'll have to," Lily said. "Sam knows that you're back from your friends house today."

She put the air quotes around 'friends house' seeing as that wasn't where he'd actually been.

"What if she pops round after work?" She asked.

"I'm sure she would text me first," Iain told her.

"I still don't think I should be here," Lily whispered, standing up quickly. "I should go home."

"What?" Iain scoffed. "Back to Henry?"

"I have to go back at some point, don't I?" Lily snapped, but she sounded close to tears. "The weekend is over, Iain. Our fantasy life is over. We can still try and see each other in secret, but…I need to go back to Henry and you need to go back to Sam. It was lovely to be able to hold hands in public, but…we both knew that it would have to end eventually."

Iain hated to admit that he knew Lily was right. Their time together was nice whilst it lasted but it wasn't going to last forever.

"Just do one thing for me," he said, as Lily began to gather her stuff together.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Text me later," he said. "Just to let me know that you're okay."

* * *

"I'm home!" Lily called, as she walked through the front door of her mum's house.

Li Na was at work again, which Lily was thankful for because she still had a few birthday preparations to do. Her party was drawing nearer, but there wasn't much more that needed doing.

"Henry!" She called again, when she received no answer.

There was the thundering of feet, as he hurried down the stairs with his shirt draped over his shoulder.

"Lily," he chuckled.

He always called her Lily. He didn't have a nickname for her like Iain did. He didn't call her beautiful or gorgeous or lovely. To him, she was just Lily.

"How was babysitting?" He asked.

Lily sensed that there was something strange going on. He'd never asked how her day had been before.

"Fine," she replied quietly. "Grace was very well behaved. It's not really babysitting though as she's hardly a baby, far from it in fact."

"Liar," he hissed.

Lily stopped dead in her tracks.

"What?" She gulped anxiously. "Wh…What do you mean?"

"You weren't babysitting," he said. "I bet Grace doesn't even exist."

Lily couldn't believe what was happening. She wanted nothing more than to disappear and get swallowed up into a black hole. Why didn't she stay in Brighton? Why didn't she and Iain just make the rash decision to run away together? Why was she only just thinking of that idea?

"I spoke to Connie," he said. "Yes, that's right! I went to your work and she may have said that you were looking after 'Grace' but I could tell that she was lying. So, where the hell have you been?"

"Looking after Grace," Lily cried, trying her best to keep up the lie.

"Shut up!" He yelled, grabbing a plate from the kitchen side and chucking it at the wall that Lily was stood in front of her.

She screamed and ducked as the plate crashed to the floor and smashed into thousands of tiny places. Lily's lower lip wobbled when she saw that it was one of her mum's best plates, one that she used regularly.

"Henry!" She tried to sound angry, but it came out as more of a frightened sob.

"I won't ask you again," he said. "Where were you?"

"I…I just went away for the weekend, okay?" She cried. "I needed a break. I'm tired, I'm stressed, and I…I've been constantly on the go with preparing for mum's party."

"What the hell do you need to be stressed about?" He asked. "And do you really expect me to believe that you went away on your own? Why didn't you ask me to come along, eh?"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting some time alone," she whispered.

"You're pathetic," he spat in her face. "How the hell did I end up with you? If I ever DARE catch you lying to me again, then you'll be sorry!"

He ended his threat by giving Lily a hard slap across the face. He then slipped his shirt on and stormed out of the house. Lily guessed that he was off to the pub but she didn't care. She just burst into tears, grabbed the cases that she'd set down in by the kitchen door, and carried them up to the bedroom.

Her cheek stung so much, and Lily now completely regret going away with Iain. Why was she making things worse for herself? If Henry ever found out that they were even dating, then she'd be done for. She sent Iain a text, telling him that she was home and that things were fine. A complete lie. She then tried to distract herself by writing her mum's birthday card, but the words just weren't coming easily to her.

There was a knock on the door, and Lily worried that it might have been Iain. She didn't want to talk to him, not after Henry had basically just hit her for lying to him. She left the card on the bed and headed downstairs to answer it.

It was Connie.

"Hi Lily," she said. "Can I come in?"

"Um…Okay," Lily stuttered and allowed her to enter the house. "Can I get you a drink?"

"A glass of water will be fine," she said. "Don't go to too much trouble."

Lily grabbed her a glass of water and the two of them sat down on the sofa. The atmosphere was awkward, and Lily just knew that Connie was going to mention the whole looking after Grace thing.

"You never responded to my messages," she said.

"Sorry," Lily muttered. "How - How did you even know that I'd be here?"

"I didn't. I took a guess," she said. "Sam told me that Iain was back today. Now, apparently he was visiting a friend but it just seemed odd that it was on the same weekend that you disappeared. You and I both know that you weren't looking after Grace, so tell me the truth here. Were you with Iain?"

Lily didn't know what to say. She could have easily told Connie the truth, but then it could have landed her in even more trouble than she already was. Or, she could have lied her way out of it again, something that she was way to used to doing by now.

"No," she answered. "I went away by myself."

She glanced across at Iain Bear who she'd unpacked and sat on top of her pillow. He seemed to be giving her the judgemental eye. She felt sick.

"Really?" Connie asked.

She sighed and it was obvious that she didn't believe her.

"Did you really feel the need to go away by yourself?" She asked. "Are you really that unhappy?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders and said, "I just needed a break, that's all."

"Lily, you shouldn't feel forced to stay with Henry," Connie said. "Not if you don't want to. I can see that he makes you unhappy and by the redness of your face, I can see that he isn't the man for you."

"He didn't hit me if that's what you're implying," Lily said. "I walked into something."

"Hmm, something that you seem to be doing an awful lot of lately," Connie sighed again. "Abuse is a horrible thing, Lily. No one deserves to go through it and it's hurting me to see you so upset and in a relationship that you're not happy with. Tell me, does Henry really treat you right?"

"Of course he does," Lily said. "We have our arguments, but don't all couples?"

Connie was completely torn. She could tell that Lily was scared and she was absolutely certain that Henry was abusing her, but what could she do if Lily kept denying it? She couldn't exactly call the police, could she? What evidence did she have? Lily could have been telling the truth.

"I'm just saying," Connie whispered. "If you're scared and unhappy, then you need to leave him. No one will judge you, no one will hold anything against you, and no one will let him hurt you."

She reached across and placed a hand on top of Lily's, causing small tears to form in the young doctor's brown eyes. Why was Connie being so nice to her? She didn't deserve it.

"If you did want to talk, then you know where I am," she said. "Your relationship is your choice at the end of the day, but I'll give you some time to think about it. On another note, were you serious about returning to Holby?"

"I think so," Lily whispered with her head hung.

She really wanted to, but she knew that Henry would be against the idea, even though she'd told Connie that he agreed with it.

"If you were, then there may be a place for you at the ED," she said. "I've discussed the matter with Charlie, and we've both agreed that we will be more than happy to have you back as a registrar. The position is yours if you want it. You just let me know, okay?"

"Thank you, Mrs Beauchamp," Lily said in complete shock. "That's extremely kind of you. Thank you."

"I'll let you get on," Connie said. "But just think about what I said, okay? I'm on your side here, and I want you to remember that."

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter x**


	12. Chapter 12

**Dancingwithmyshadow6: Thank you so much! Loads more to come. Thank you for your review.**

 **RedBelle94: Connie will play a big part. They will judge them unfortunately, and things will only get messier from here. Thank you for your review.**

 **Guest: Sorry for the lack of Sam, but she will come into the story more soon. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Twelve

"Happy Birthday, Li Na!"

Everyone cheered and clapped, as Li Na blew out the candles on the birthday cake that Lily had made for her. It wasn't anything special, just a Victoria sponge with her name written on the front in black icing.

"Happy Birthday, Mum," Lily said her own personal birthday greeting and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. "Can I give you your present now?"

"You didn't have to get me anything, my angel," Li Na said and cupped Lily's face in her hands. "Having you here is more than enough."

"I wanted to though," Lily said and handed the gift-wrapped locket over to her.

Li Na smiled, obviously pleased with the fact that Lily had actually bought her something, and she carefully started to unwrap it. What met her eyes amazed her. Her mouth hung open and small tears sprung to her eyes. She carefully removed the locket from the box and held it up for everyone to see.

"Lily. It's beautiful!" She squealed with delight. "It's just like one your father bought for me once, way before you were born."

Lily never even knew about that.

"What happened to it?" She asked, intrigued.

"Oh, I don't know," Li Na sighed, disappointed. "I lost it years ago. We never did find it. I loved that necklace, and I love this one just as much."

"Would you like me to put it on you?" Lily offered, gesturing for her mother to turn round. She took the locket from her and hung it around her neck, doing up the clasp at the back. "It suits you," Lily said, stepping back to admire her.

"Thank you," Li Na whispered and took hold of Lily's hand. "Come."

Lily frowned at her in confusion, but followed her mum over to the patio of the back garden. There wasn't anyone around there, and Li Na wanted to have a private conversation with her daughter.

"Your father would be so proud of you, Lily," she said, keeping hold of her hand tightly. "And I wish that he was here to walk you down the aisle. Henry is a lovely man."

"Yes," Lily answered with a tight feeling in her chest. "He is, isn't he?"

"And your father would really like him," she said.

Lily prayed to God that she'd stop talking. Although she didn't realise it, she was making things a lot worse.

"I'm so glad that you listened to us, Lily," she whispered in her ear, before giving her a loving kiss on the cheek.

* * *

"Iain, I need to talk to you," Lily whispered, creeping up on Iain from behind and placing a hand on his back. "Privately, if possible."

Iain jumped but a small smile appeared on his face when he saw that it was Lily.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, confused but happy.

"Well," Lily sighed. "Mrs Beauchamp has offered me my job back. I um…I'm probably not going to take it though, which is why I'm here. I need to let her know of my decision, but I just need to talk to you briefly first."

"Why aren't you taking it?" He asked her. "I thought you wanted to come back to Holby."

"That's what I want to talk to you about," Lily whispered. "This, us, needs to stop. I'm with Henry and you're with Sam, and my mother approves of him. So would my father if he was here."

"Do you love him though, Lily?" Iain scoffed. "Because you can't date someone just for your parents approval. I thought you would have learnt something by now."

"I just…"

Lily was about to continue, but suddenly every single light in the ED went out. Iain and Lily were thrown into darkness, and a couple of freaked out patients began to scream. Charlie walked past and just muttered a number of swear words under his breath.

"It's fine, I'll go and find a torch or something," Iain offered kindly.

"I'll come with you," Lily said, hoping that the two of them were able to finish off their conversation.

Once they'd hurried off together, Lily decided to continue with what she was saying.

"I'm just doing what's best and easier for me," she said. "I can't lose my mother as well, Iain. If she finds out about us, she'll disown me."

"And she's more important, is she?" Iain snapped, hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry, Lily. I thought that what we had was special. I thought you loved me."

"I do love you," Lily hissed, wishing that Iain would keep his voice down.

"Then why are you choosing to take the coward's way out?" He asked, as they reached a supply cupboard. "Henry hurts you! One of these days, he could quite easily kill you. I think your mum would rather you be with a man who loves and supports you, than someone who makes every day of your life a complete misery. Why can't you just tell her what he's like? She's your mum, Lily! I'm sure she'd understand."

"She wouldn't," Lily whispered, shutting the door behind her. "Trust me."

Iain couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was hurt in all honesty. He loved Lily, more than any other girlfriend that he'd had, and now she had decided to leave him. He didn't know what he was supposed to say.

"There has to be a torch in here somewhere!" He yelled angrily and kicked a wall, causing a cardboard box to fall off a shelf and empty its contents out onto the floor.

Lily jumped at Iain's sudden outburst and remained stood with her back against the door. She thought back to every conversation that she'd had with her mum, and realised that every single one had been negative. Her parents had put so much pressure on her. They wanted her to have a brilliant job, the man of their choice, and basically the life of their choice. She was an adult at the end of the day. She needed to get on with living her own life.

"Have you always had negative experiences with your parents?" Iain sighed.

"I guess I'm always feeling quite a lot of pressure with them," she admitted quietly. "I don't love Henry, but he's their perfect guy. I'm sorry, Iain. I've had so many brilliant times with you."

"And I've had brilliant times with you as well," Iain said. "The hearse, eh? Remember?"

"Of course," Lily laughed, hanging her head shyly. "I wish that it was easier."

"Life isn't easy though, is it?" Iain said and walked over to give her a small kiss on the cheek. "Come here."

"Iain, I said no," Lily whispered and shook her head.

She so wanted it though. She so wanted him to grab her and kiss her. He moved his lips to her lips and held his arms around her waist. Lily kissed him back without thinking and pushed him back against the wall of the cupboard. She smiled for the first time in ages, as he ran his hands up the inside of her shirt.

The door then clicked open and Gem revealed herself. As soon as she saw what was going on between Lily and her brother, her mouth hung open.

"Oh. My. God."

Immediately, Gem just slammed the door shut and raced off. Lily held both hands to her face and collapsed back against the wall with a heavy sigh.

"What the hell do we do now?" She sighed.

"Well." Iain shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. "She always wanted us to get back together."

"That isn't the point," Lily hissed and slapped him on the arm. "What if she tells someone?"

"She won't," Iain said. "Chuckles, don't worry. I know my sister and she won't tell anyone."

"She walked in on us," Lily stated. "Everything is ruined now, Iain. We need to fix this."

 **I'm sorry that the chapter was so short, but I hope it was okay. I had this idea in mind for a while and I really wanted to update it. I'll try and make the next chapter a bit longer. Let me know what you think x**


	13. Chapter 13

**RedBelle94: Thank you so much! Enjoy the update.**

Chapter Thirteen

"We need to talk to her before she tells anyone," Lily whispered as they crossed reception in complete darkness.

Lily hoped that no one would ask them about the torch that they'd gone to find, as they still hadn't got one. Iain nodded at her in agreement and gave her back a subtle rub to try and comfort her, but she just nudged him away.

"Iain!" The sound of Sam's voice caused them both to jump away from each other and turn round. "Hey," she said, more to Iain than Lily. "How was your weekend away?"

"Um…" Iain gulped and turned to Iain. "Sorry, Sam. Lily and I kind of need to try and find a torch for Charlie, because of the power and stuff. We did promise him."

"Does it really take two people?" Sam questioned suspiciously, looking between the two of them.

"No," Lily spoke up first. "It doesn't. You stay here Iain and talk to Sam. I'll find the torch."

"Are you sure?" Iain asked her.

With a small and subtle wink, Lily nodded and said, "Positive. I'll deal with this, don't worry."

* * *

Lily felt sick.

She sat cross-legged on the sofa of the ambulance office, arms folded across her chest. She couldn't believe that Gem had just walked in on them. They should have been more careful. Why on earth had they been stupid enough to make out in the ED, where anyone was able to see them? It was their fault. She needed to find Gem but firstly, she just needed to take some time to compose herself and think about what she was going to say.

When she'd taken some time, she stood up and went in search of Iain's little sister. It didn't take too long to find her. She was stood on the roof, arms folded across the edge, looking out into the big wide world.

"How'd you find me here?" She mumbled.

"I sometimes come here myself when I need some time," Lily sighed and went to stand beside her.

"So?" Gem sighed back. "How long has it been going on for?"

"I guess it started with Iain noticing a mark on my face," Lily said, tears pricking her eyes at memory. "Henry is great, but he can lose his temper sometimes. There just seemed to be some spark between Iain and I. There always was I guess, even when I was living in Hong Kong."

Gem thought about seeing her brother with Sam and realised that he never actually looked happy with her. Not really.

"If that's the case," she said. "Then why have you never left Henry, and why hasn't Iain left Sam?"

"Honestly." Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I'm scared. Then there's all of that added pressure with my mum. She loves Henry, she thinks he's perfect, and she wants me to stay with him. I'm sure my dad would feel the same if he was still here. Henry isn't the guy that my mother thinks he is though. He's never called me beautiful, complimented me in any way, and he's hit me a few times as well."

"Really?" Gem's eyes widened in shock, and her lower lip wobbled slightly.

Lily nodded faintly and hung her head in shame.

"You need to follow your heart, Lily," Gem said. "No one else's. I'm not saying that I agree with cheating or anything, but I'm secretly pleased. I really like you Lily, you're the best friend I've ever had, and I was gutted to hear that you'd left. You and Iain are perfect together and you really belong with each other."

"Do you mean that?" Lily whispered.

"Every word," Gem said.

"You know you can always talk to me, right?" Lily smiled down at her. "Do you still have my number?"

Lily patted her pockets to try and find her mobile, but found that she didn't have it on her.

"I must have left it at home," Lily sighed, realising that she hadn't actually used it all day. "I'll text you when I get home though, just in case you don't have it anymore."

"I don't think you'll need to do that anyway," Gem laughed. "I always knew you'd come back eventually."

* * *

"I'm home," Lily called, as she stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind her.

Silence.

"Henry!" She called even louder, knowing that her mum was currently at work. "Today was different," she sighed and threw her keys onto the table. "We had a power cut."

Whilst searching the whole of downstairs, she heard a clatter from the bedroom.

"Henry," she called again with a small sigh.

She climbed the stairs and opened the door to the bedroom, where she saw Henry standing in the middle of the room with her mobile in his left hand.

"What's going on?" She asked anxiously, as she stepped further into the room.

"What's going on?" He repeated her question in an aggressive manner. "Why on earth have you been messaging this Iain guy? I thought things were over between the two of you."

Lily folded her arms protectively across her chest and gulped, before talking in a soft whisper.

"You've been going through my phone."

"Answer me!" He screamed, causing the entire house to shake.

"It's just friendly," Lily began to cry, her small anxiety now turning to utter fear. "We're just friends, Henry. I swear!"

"It doesn't look like that though, does it?" Suddenly, he unlocked Lily's phone with a swipe of a finger and began to read them out loud. "When are we meeting up? I'm looking forward to seeing you! I love you too!" Turning back to Lily, his voice grew louder. "You disgusting, fat, ugly, lying, little slut!"

Lily flinched at every word that he threw at her, and her tears began to fall even faster.

"I thought you loved me," she whispered.

"Are you kidding?" He scoffed. "I'm only in it for the money and the house. As soon as we were married, I was going to shove your batty, nosey, old mother in a home, take the money, and ship you back to Hong Kong for good! I don't love you Lily, I never have done, and I can't believe that you were stupid enough to think that I did either. You need to stop living in a fantasy world. No man will ever love you. I bet Iain doesn't even love you, he just feels sorry for you."

As he spoke, he stepped closer towards Lily. She felt his breathing on her neck, and it scared her. Why couldn't he stop? Why couldn't he stop and just leave? It was her fault though, wasn't it? Gem knew and now Henry knew, and everything was going wrong. She and Iain should have never even had an affair in the first place. They'd caused this.

She'd caused this.

"I don't want to leave Holby, Henry," she sobbed. "This is my home and it always has been my home. I…I'm sorry. I…I love Iain, I love him so much, and Mrs Beauchamp has offered me my old job back in the ED."

"So?" He hissed between gritted teeth. "What are you saying?"

The strong smell of booze poured off of him, and Lily felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she apologised through her tears.

Within seconds, Henry raised a hand and slapped her hard across the face. The slap was so hard that it caused her to fall straight to the floor and onto her arm. She felt a crack as she landed straight onto her wrist and let out an agonizing scream.

"You deserved that," Henry said and kicked her hard in the stomach. "Just like you deserved everything else."

He chucked her phone onto the floor beside her and gave her another hard kick, before leaving the room.

Lily remained on the floor in a ball, her arms across her sore stomach. She was too scared to look at the injuries, but she could feel blood trickling down her skin and she was struggling to breathe. She needed to ring someone, but she wasn't sure who to ring.

She didn't really want to talk to Connie.

Her mum was at work, and probably wouldn't even believe her.

Iain was with Sam.

The first person that came to mind was Gem.

* * *

Henry Kellerman wasn't the nicest of people.

That night after he'd downed two whole bottles of alcohol at the pub, and whilst Lily and Li Na were both asleep, he came home and walked towards the car that sat on the driveway.

 **Sorry that it's taken so long. Let me know what you think x**


	14. Chapter 14

**RedBelle94: Then you won't like the sound of this ending either, I'm afraid. There will be another scene with Lily and Gem in this chapter. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Fourteen

"How are you feeling this morning?" Gem asked, as she sat up on the floor of Lily's bedroom, a pink blanket draped across her knees.

Lily was lying under the duvet in her bed, but Gem knew that she was awake just by the sound of her breathing. She didn't talk, but she did give a small shrug of the shoulders.

"How's your wrist?" Gem asked, but Lily still didn't speak. "You're going to have to get it looked at, Lily," she sighed. "It's probably broken."

"It's fine," Lily whispered softly. "I can sort it myself."

Gem sighed deeply and stood up to go and sit on the edge of the bed. She saw tears in Lily's eyes and placed a gentle hand on her arm. Lily flinched, but she seemed to relax when she looked up to see Gem's face staring down at her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gem asked.

Lily sat up, wincing as pain shot through the wrist that Gem had badly bandaged for her, and gave a small shake of the head. Gem didn't know what to do. Lily was seriously injured, she was upset, but she was refusing to let anyone help her. Gem needed to go to work, but she was scared that Henry would return home and hurt Lily again. What if he killed her?

"I'm going to stay with you," Gem offered and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder.

"You need to go to work," Lily told her.

"I can't leave you alone," Gem said. "What if…What if he comes back?"

"Then I'll get everything that I deserve," Lily mumbled into her knees.

It broke Gem's heart to hear her say that. No matter how many times Lily insisted on Gem going to work, Gem just ignored her. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen so that she could get herself and Lily some breakfast. She wasn't much of a cook but there was cereal in the cupboard, so she just grabbed a bowl and some milk. She wasn't feeling very hungry.

She hoped that Lily would be okay. No one deserved to be on the receiving end of abuse, and she felt so useless because she couldn't actually do anything to stop it. When she was in the kitchen, she whipped her mobile phone out the pocket of her pyjama bottoms and scrolled through her contacts until she came to her brother's number. He needed to know what had happened. He needed to be aware of the state that Lily was currently in. To be honest she was surprised to find no message from him questioning her about her whereabouts, seeing as they did live together and she'd randomly got up and left after receiving the panicked call from Lily. Once she'd sent a text to Iain, she carried the cereal and the juice up on a tray to where Lily was still sat in bed.

"You didn't have to make breakfast," she said. "I'm not even hungry."

"You need to eat something," Gem told her sternly. "It was no trouble. Have some breakfast and then I'll help you get dressed."

"You don't need to," Lily said. "I can manage with one hand."

She didn't really want to Gem to see her naked body. It was awkward enough anyway, but it made her bruises and injuries just made it even worse.

"Please go to work, Gemma," Lily sighed, as she spooned some cereal into her mouth with her good hand.

"Gem," she corrected quietly, as shouting wasn't going to help. "And like I said before, I'm staying. I'll cover for us both, don't worry."

"What are you going to say exactly?" Lily asked. "I can pull a sickie, but it'll look suspicious if you do as well."

"I'll think of something." Gem shrugged her shoulders. "But I'll make sure that I take the blame for it, okay? I don't want you to get into trouble. Your job means more to you than it does to me."

Lily said nothing, and just ate her breakfast in silence. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Gem, so Gem took the opportunity to give her some time alone. She went downstairs and switched the TV on. There wasn't an awful lot at that time of the morning but there was an old episode of The Simpsons that she shoved on.

Making herself comfortable on the sofa, she decided to call Iain. It took him a while to answer, and Gem let out a sigh of relief when he finally did.

"Hey Gem, what's up?" He asked.

"Are you busy?" Gem asked him.

"I'm just about to leave for work," he sighed. "I assume you're at work already, early bird."

"No, actually," Gem whispered. "Lily called me last night. She was really upset, and…She wanted me to go round."

"Is she okay?" Iain's calm tone immediately changed to pure panic. "What happened?"

Gem hesitated for a moment. What was the best way to word it?

"Henry hit her," she decided to just come straight out and say it. "Are you able to stop by on your way to work? She's hardly talking to me this morning and you might be able to help more."

"He hit her?" Iain sounded like a mix between upset and angry. "Is he there, Gem?"

"He hasn't been here all night," Gem said. "Her mum came back late and she was already gone when we work up this morning, so it's just been the two of us. We're pretty lucky really. Lily doesn't want her mum to know and well…it's pretty obvious why I'm pleased that Henry isn't here. Can you come over?"

"Sure," Iain sighed. "Are you okay?"

"I think it's Lily that you need to worry about right now," Gem said. "I'm fine."

She wasn't fine though, and Iain could hear that in her voice. He said nothing else about it though and just agreed to pop into Li Na's place on the way to work. He left his car parked outside his flat and headed off on a run towards Lily's flat. He didn't live too far from Li Na's place, and with all the various road works that was going on throughout town; he assumed that driving would take ten times longer. He worried about Lily the whole way there and sweat was dripping down him fast, but he still didn't slow down. He just wanted to get there. As soon as he arrived, he ran straight up to the door and knocked loudly on it.

Gem answered.

"That was quick," she said.

"Why so surprised?" He sighed, pushing her to one side as he rushed in. "Where's Lily?"

"You're sweating," Gem said, grimacing at the sight of her brother.

"Where's Lily?" He asked again.

"Upstairs," Gem said. "Thanks for coming. Did you seriously run the whole way here?"

"Quicker that way," he said.

Iain then sighed and gave his sister a small smile.

"Listen," he said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go to work, okay? You need the money and…I'm here now. I'll look after Lily."

"I said that I'd stay," Gem whispered.

"Gem, please," Iain sighed again. "I'll keep you updated. Who knows when Henry will come back though? And I'd rather not have him hurt you as well."

"What about you?" Gem yelled, small tears in her eyes at the sudden thought of her brother being hurt.

"I'm a big boy," he said. "I can take care of myself. Now, get yourself off to work. Here." He dipped into his pocket and pulled out a few notes. "Get yourself a taxi, so you're not late."

"Are you sure that you're going to be okay?" Gem asked.

Iain gave her a reassuring nod, before heading upstairs to see Lily. She'd finished her breakfast and was now lying in bed with a book. The first thing that Iain saw was the bandage around her wrist.

"Did he do that to you?" He asked angrily.

"What are you doing here?" Lily hissed.

"Gem called me," Iain said. "And I'm glad that she did. She told me Henry had hit you, and then I see that you have a huge bandage on your wrist."

"I…I fell over," Lily whispered, rubbing at the soreness in her wrist.

"When he hit you?" Iain asked. "Lily," he sighed. "This has got out of hand now. You need to leave him." He walked over and gave her hair a gentle stroke, whilst crouching at the side of the bed. "Is it broken? You need to get it seen to."

"I already told Gem that I'm fine," she whispered, and a single tear rolled down one side of her face. "I don't want everyone to know."

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, you know?" Iain whispered back, holding a finger under his chin. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I have though," Lily began to cry. "Henry found out about us, that's why he hit me! That's why I broke my wrist!"

Iain gulped and slowly rubbed small circles up and down her back. He didn't know what to say. He blamed himself.

"How – How did he find out?" He stuttered.

"He looked through my phone," Lily cried. "I'm so scared, Iain! I couldn't go to work and have everyone find out, but what if he comes back? I don't know what to do anymore."

Iain enveloped Lily in his arms, being careful of her bad wrist, and kissed her temple. He then had an idea.

"Why don't we go for a drive?" He asked.

"What?" Lily sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"This is going to sound silly," he chuckled. "But when Gem was little and whenever she was upset, my mum used to take her out in the car. It always made her feel better. Why don't we go for a drive? We can talk, put on some nice music, and we won't be here if Henry does come back. I think I should drive though, eh?" He added with a smile, gesturing to her bandaged wrist.

"Okay." Lily faintly nodded, her eyes now on her wrist.

"I still think that you should get that seen to though," Iain said. "As a doctor and a human being, you know that it can't be left untreated."

Lily nodded again and wiped her tears away, whilst pulling away from Iain.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Iain replied with a smile. "Come on, gorgeous."

Once they were both strapped into the car, Iain reached across and gave Lily's shoulder a comforting rub. He gave her a delicate kiss on the cheek, turned the engine on, and pulled out of the driveway.

"You don't mind me driving your car, do you?" He laughed.

"It's fine," Lily said, winding down the window.

"Good," he said. "I'll be careful, I promise. Now, what music do you want to listen to?"

"Just put the radio on," Lily sighed, looking out of the window. "I don't mind."

She still had tears in her eyes, and Iain wished that there were something else that he could do. He put BBC Radio on and Ed Sheeran immediately started blaring out.

"Are you okay?" Iain asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," Lily sighed.

She looked ahead at a set of red traffic lights and sighed sadly to herself. As they drew closer though, Iain didn't appear to be slowing down.

"Iain," she began to panic. "Slow down."

"I'm trying," Iain yelled, as he pressed his foot hard against the break. "It – It won't stop!"

"Iain!" Lily screamed, as their car sped straight through the lights at full speed.

There was a flash of headlights, the loud sound of a horn, terrified screaming, and then everything went black.

 **I am so sorry for the cliffhanger! I hope you liked it though. Leave a review and let me know what you think x**


	15. Chapter 15

**LillyMayFlower: Me too! A bit of a dramatic chapter, this one. We will soon see what happened, probably in the next chapter. Thank you for your review.**

 **RedBelle94: Everything is starting to come out in the open now! Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Fifteen

Sam was used to going out on location. She was used to speeding through bad traffic with sirens blaring in her ears. She was used to the blood and the horrific injuries that were waiting for her.

However, she was not used to going out on location and finding her boyfriend in the middle of the accident.

"Iain!" She screamed, after her colleague had shouted his name across the road. "Iain!" Her screams soon turned to sobs, as she threw herself at the crushed up vehicle.

Yanking the door open, she was surprised to see that Lily was in the car with him. Both of them were unconscious, bleeding from the head. Sam wanted answers. She wanted to know why Iain had even been in a car with his ex whilst he was supposed to be at work. As a paramedic though, she knew that treating their injuries was her number one priority.

"Iain. Please…talk to me," she pleaded, as she checked for a pulse.

She glanced across at her colleague who was also checking for a pulse on Lily. Luckily, they both had one, but Iain's was very weak.

"Okay," Sam took a deep breath, as her tears continued to fall down her face. "We're going to get you both to the ED. You'll be okay."

Sam tried to convince herself that that was true, but she wasn't sure. The accident looked like a bad one, and Sam wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but it looked as if Iain had driven through a red light. It wasn't like him, and so many unanswered questions were swirling around her brain.

* * *

"Okay, what have we got?" Connie asked, strolling over to the paramedics.

"Iain and Lily," Sam answered, before breaking down into floods of tears.

"What?" Connie's eyes widened, and she immediately rushed to the two gurneys. "Get them both into Resus! Dylan, I could do with your help!"

"Please would be nice," Dylan muttered, but he immediately went quiet when he saw that it was Iain and Lily.

Gem was standing nearby and she began to scream when she saw the state that her brother was in. Alicia grabbed her before she could make a run for it, and tried to calm her down.

"Let me go!" She yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Iain!"

"He's fine, Gem," Alicia said gently. "He's okay. You need to stay here though, please."

"No," she sobbed, shaking her head. "He's all I've got. I need to be with him."

"Not now," Alicia whispered. "Come on. Let's go and get a drink."

Treating their colleagues was never a nice experience and Connie felt sick as she looked at the doctor and the paramedic. What were they even doing together?

"Lily, darling, it's Mrs Beauchamp," Connie said gently, as Lily was wheeled through. "You're going to be okay. You're in safe hands, I promise."

Lily whimpered slightly, suddenly awake, and began to thrash around on the bed. She was so confused, unable to remember anything that had happened, and it scared her. She did remember one thing though.

Iain.

"Iain!" She cried out, pushing Connie away as she tried to get near her. "Iain!"

"Lily, he's fine," Connie whispered, glancing across at the doctor's that were trying to help Iain.

Honestly, she wasn't sure if he would be okay. He was in a bad way and he'd been the one at the wheel. She hoped that she wasn't telling a complete lie to Lily.

"Her wrist appears to be broken," Dylan announced, as he examined her arm. "Did that happen in the crash?"

"Leave me alone," Lily sobbed, wincing as pain shot through her.

Connie sighed deeply and exchanged glances with Dylan. Just by Lily's reaction, she guessed that it probably hadn't happened in the crash, and she had a pretty good idea of how it'd happened as well.

* * *

Lily couldn't stop thinking about Iain.

He was probably going to die, and it was all her fault. She glanced down at her broken wrist that had been fixed and bandaged by Connie, and she held a hand to the cut on her cheek. She glanced around the hospital room and sniffed, feeling terribly scared and anxious. What if Henry found out? Sam had seen them together. Everything had gone wrong.

The door to the room opened and Connie walked in with Gem. It looked like bad news.

"Is he okay?" She sobbed, her lower lip wobbling.

"He's fine," Connie sighed. "He was lucky. He has some quite nasty injuries, as do you, so the two of you will need to stay in overnight."

"I need to see him," Lily cried.

"You can see him later," Gem spoke before Connie could. "You were in that crash as well, Lily."

"Which brings me to my next thought," Connie sighed, and Lily suddenly felt sick. "What were you and Iain doing together?"

Lily took a deep breath and glanced towards Gem who had her eyes on the floor. She clearly hadn't said anything.

"I'm not stupid, Lily," Connie said. "No one is. We all know that you and Iain had history, and we all know that you haven't exactly been happy with Henry. What's going on here? You can tell me, hmm." She looked down at Gem and sighed, "Or if you don't feel comfortable, perhaps Gemma could tell me."

Gem looked up with wide and watery eyes and said, "Why do you automatically assume that I know something?"

"Don't you?" Connie questioned her.

Gem looked to Lily, who just managed a very small nod, before looking back to Connie. It was her turn to sigh now.

"Fine," she said. "I um…I walked in on Lily and Iain kissing. They've been seeing each other for a while now, since Lily's return to Holby."

"Whilst you were both already in relationships," Connie said. "Lily, I by no means agree with cheating, and I hope you realise the difficult position that you and Iain have both put yourselves in."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Iain doesn't love Sam though, and I…I can't stay with Henry."

Connie nodded and went to sit on the edge of her bed. "He was the one who broke your wrist, wasn't he?" She asked, receiving a nod from Lily. "You should have asked for help," Connie told her. "Henry's been abusing you. More importantly, you should have just come clean and told people the truth. Did you not stop to think about Sam's feelings?"

"I guess we didn't," Lily whispered. "I was just so scared of telling Henry that I didn't want to be with him, not just because he could hurt me, but because I'd be letting my family down as well."

"Lily," Connie sighed and shook her head, tears now forming in her own eyes. "You couldn't let anyone down and if you do, they are really not worth your time."

* * *

"You can see him later," Dylan said and handed Sam a cup of coffee. "He's fine. Shaken up and he has a few cuts on his face, but he's fine. We did a CT scan and he has no severe head injury."

Sam nodded her head faintly and allowed Dylan to take a seat next to him. The two of them were silent for a good few minutes, and Sam didn't even touch her coffee.

"Say it then," Sam hissed and eventually took a sip. "I know what you're thinking."

"What?" Dylan asked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Lily and Iain," Sam scoffed. "They're back together, aren't they?"

"I…I don't know." He shrugged awkwardly. "But why else would they have been in the car together? Iain suddenly disappeared for a random weekend away to see a friend that he's hardly ever mentioned. It all seems a bit too suspicious if you ask me." He shook his head and looked towards her for an answer. "And yet you seem perfectly fine about all of this."

"If I got angry and upset about it, then wouldn't I sound like a bit of a hypocrite?" She sighed. "I don't know, Dylan. I love Iain, I really do."

"But?" Dylan pushed her for an answer.

"But." She paused before continuing. "Seeing them together in that car made me remember how happy they'd been when they were together, how upset Iain had been when Lily had left for Hong Kong, how he'd sang that song for her. Iain and I will never work out, Dylan. It's clear that he still has strong feelings for her and that's okay. He can't help the way he feels and I guess that's something I just need to deal with."

"That's very brave and good of you, Sam," Dylan said. "I'm actually a little proud of you."

Sam sighed and rested her head against Dylan's shoulder, her tears continuing to fall. She'd be lying if she'd said that she was completely fine with Iain's decision. Honestly, she was hurt and she was upset, but Iain and Lily couldn't help their feelings, and she had been one to cheat in the past.

"So?" Dylan cleared his throat awkwardly. "What are you going to do?"

"First," Sam sighed. "I need to talk to Iain."

 **So you will find out where Henry is in the next chapter, what everyone thinks of Lily and Iain's affair, and what happened to Lily's car! So much tension! I know some people don't read for Lily much now because she's left the show, but I will definitely keep writing for her. She'll always be my favourite and I do love writing storylines for her. If you are still reading, thank you, and I'm sure you're missing her just as much as me.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think x**


	16. Chapter 16

**RedBelle94: More of Sam in this chapter. More of Henry as well. I will always write about Lily, she means so much to me. Thank you for your review.**

Chapter Sixteen

Iain was half asleep when Sam entered his room.

"Hey," Sam whispered and slowly made her way over to him. "How are you feeling?" Iain just shrugged his shoulders, too tired to answer. "Do you mind if I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," he croaked out, coughing slightly. "What's wrong?"

Sam sighed and sat down in the chair beside Iain's bed. "Why didn't you stop the car?"

"I tried to," Iain told her, wincing as he rolled onto his back. "But the breaks wouldn't work."

"What do you mean?" Sam frowned at him, confused and concerned.

"The breaks weren't working," Iain repeated himself. "I tried so hard to stop, but I couldn't."

Sam said nothing. She wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand, but she couldn't. He loved Lily, didn't he? It wouldn't be right.

"Can I ask you a question, Iain?" She asked quietly. "But I need you to be honest with me." Iain nodded against his pillow, silently waiting for her to continue. "Are you and Lily back together?"

Iain's eyes widened and he slowly lifted his head to look at her.

"I need you to be honest with me," Sam said in a tearful voice. "Because I think I already know the answer."

"I'm sorry, Sam," he whispered, knowing that he couldn't possibly lie to her. "I'm so sorry."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Sam sobbed. "I'm not angry at you, Iain. It would be hypocritical of me if I was, but…you could have just told me. I would have understood."

"I did it for Lily," he sighed. "I guess I didn't really think about you. I'm sorry."

"You didn't think about me?" Sam asked. "I have to go."

"What?" Iain asked.

"You need to rest," Sam sighed, standing up from the chair. "Sorry, Iain. Get well soon."

Sam left quickly before Iain could try and stop her. It wasn't as if he could go far anyway. She just needed to get some air, to take some time to think about things. She went outside and saw a man standing across the way with a cigarette in his hand. He looked familiar, and Sam soon managed to recognise him.

Henry, Lily's soon to be husband.

"Are you here to see Lily?" Sam asked, walking over to him. "She's okay, and she's allowed visitors."

"Not exactly," he scoffed, chucking his cigarette to the ground and putting it out with his foot. "Why would I want to see that little slut, when she's been seeing some other man behind my back?"

"You know then," Sam sighed, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Did you know what she was doing?" Henry asked.

"I haven't known for long," Sam said. "But it was my boyfriend that she was actually having an affair with, so I'm not exactly taking sides."

"Really?" He scoffed, glancing across at two policemen who were crossing the car park. "I'm sorry to hear that. What was your name again?"

"Sam," Sam told him. "Sam Nicholls."

* * *

"I don't know what to say, Lily," Li Na sighed, small tears in her eyes. "Why were you even in a car with Iain? I thought that the two of you were over. Look at what he has done to you! Your wrist is broken!"

"Lily's wrist was broken before the crash," Connie spoke up confidently.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Lily apologised in a small voice. "But…" She glanced towards Connie, before continuing. "I don't love Henry. Iain and I have – We've been having an affair."

"You have been sleeping with Iain this whole time?" Li Na asked her in shock.

Lily shrugged uncomfortably. She and Iain weren't the type of people to sleep together and have sex every hour of every day. They saved that for special occasions. It was just nice to cuddle on the sofa with a film, or go out for dinner at a nice restaurant somewhere.

"Henry is a wonderful man, Lily!" She yelled at her daughter in tears. "Does he know about this?"

"How could you be so blind?" Connie asked. "Did you not notice any marks on her face, how her behaviour changed around him? Doesn't sound so wonderful to me!"

"I think I know Henry better than you do," Li Na mentioned.

"And I think Lily knows him better than anyone," Connie said. "He has been abusing her. He isn't a nice man, okay? Henry may be perfect in your eyes but this is Lily's relationship and it's her life, which makes it her choice."

Lily hung her head and fixated her eyes on her bandaged wrist. She thought about Iain and how lonely and scared he must have been feeling. She wanted to see him, but Connie clearly wanted her to get some rest first. Iain seemed to be in a bad way. Connie had said that talking to her mum might help, but Lily couldn't bear to sit there and talk to her for much longer.

"I want you to leave," she said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Li Na asked in shock.

"Please," Lily muttered. "I want you to leave."

Li Na felt tears in her eyes and slowly turned her attention to Connie. Connie placed a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder and nodded, making Li Na turn on her heels and exit the room. Lily just sighed and rested her head against Connie's hand, feeling a whole mixture of sad, scared but also happy. Everything was out in the open now. Henry would go to prison, and she and Iain could live happily ever after. Were things really that easy though? She almost forgot about Sam, until she walked into the room.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Sam," Lily whispered back and slowly lifted her head. "I – I'm sorry. I…"

"Don't." Sam shook her head. "I spoke to Iain. We've pretty much ended things. He really loves you, Lily. Let's face it; he and I never really went together. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset, but I'm not angry. In a way, I can see why you did what you did."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

Sam nodded and said, "I'm positive, don't worry. Iain is fine by the way, so try not to worry about him too much either. Just look after yourself."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Lily asked. "Iain cheated on you, and it's my fault."

"Let's just forget about it, Lily," Sam said. "Iain and I never really had that spark with each other, and he was gutted when you went to Hong Kong. He loves you and only you."

Lily smiled gratefully at the paramedic, just as two policemen arrived either side of her.

"What's going on?" Lily asked.

"They're probably just here to ask you a few questions," Connie said to try and reassure her. "Don't worry."

"We're looking for Sam Nicholls actually," one policeman spoke.

"Um…that's me," Sam said, awkwardly raising a hand. "Can I help you at all?"

"Sam Nicholls, we are arresting you on the suspicion of attempted murder," he said, grabbing Sam's wrists so that he could put a pair of handcuffs on her. "You do not have to say anything but anything you do say may be used as evidence in court."

"What?" Lily squealed, edging forwards on the bed only for Connie to push her back. "What's going on? Sam hasn't tried to kill anyone!"

"The brakes on the car had been tampered with," the other policeman said. "We have evidence to believe that Sam Nicholls is responsible."

"I didn't do anything!" Sam yelled. "Get off me!"

"Sam wouldn't do that," Lily defended her.

"We have evidence to believe that she would," the policeman said. "Miss Nicholls, come with us."

Lily and Connie couldn't do anything to stop Sam from getting arrested. All they could do was sit back and watch as she was dragged out of the room and out of the ED towards a police car.

 **Sorry that it's taken so long to update this story. I had a bit of a writers block. I hope you're all still enjoying my stories, please let me know what you think x**


	17. Chapter 17

**RedBelle94: Bless her! Although I hate Henry, I do like writing his scenes haha. Does that make me a bad person? Me too, her mum needs to know what Henry had been doing to her daughter. Sorry for the long wait in an update but thank you for your review.**

 **LillyMayFlower: Thank you so much! More to come.**

Chapter Seventeen

Sam watched each pair of eyes when she was taken by the police.

It was scary when people watched a paramedic being guided away. Scarier however for the paramedic, wondering why she would want to harm someone for no reason. Could news come out to the police about Lily and Iain's affair? Could Henry also be taken for questioning? What evidence did the police have against them? The voices behind her were asking why she had been arrested. Some people seemed to believe Sam knew about the affair and that out of anger, she sabotaged Lily's car, wanting to get back at her for sleeping with Iain. Others believed that since she had a motive, she must have been guilty. What horrified Sam wasn't that fact that she was hated though. What shocked her was that they were understanding of her "actions".

In their eyes, she and Henry were the victims and Iain and Lily got what was coming to them. Surely, it was none of their business of what had been going off. As soon as she stepped outside, Sam caught a brief glance of Henry and Mrs Chao. It terrified her when she saw the pure hatred in the eyes of the mother of one of the crashes' victims. If looks could murder, then Sam would have had a knife piercing through her heart. Did Lily's mother really think she could try to kill anyone out of anger? But it didn't shock her that Mrs Chao was angry at Sam for what happened? What shocked her was the expression that Henry showed. He wasn't concerned when he heard Lily had been taken to hospital, or that she had to stay overnight, or that she was having an affair with another man? The tone in his voice suggested he never cared about Lily at all. It suddenly dawned on her.

"I don't think this new boyfriend treats her right."

That was why Iain and Lily were hiding their relationship. Henry clearly wasn't as perfect as everyone else believed. That man must had thought he could control Lily and when he didn't get his own way, he would take his anger out on others. Sam realised that she shouldn't really class Henry as a man, not like Iain who did everything he could do to keep Lily safe and away from harm. Iain was the example of a man who would sacrifice everything, Henry…Henry was a monster.

Sam watched as his eyes looked up at her and that was when she saw it. The frown suddenly turned into a vicious smirk…wait a minute! He wasn't concern when he heard the news that Lily was in hospital. Nor was he relieved when he learned that she was okay. But he was happy to see her taken away by the police. Sam suddenly realised who was responsible for messing with Lily's car, and more importantly how she was set up!

Henry had sabotaged Lily's car!

Of course Sam knew that no one would believe her, not when the police clearly had evidence. Sam didn't know what Henry or done or how he'd done it, but she needed to find out, and she needed to somehow let Henry and Lily know the truth.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Connie asked gently, as she sat in the office with Lily.

Lily had been feeling fairly weak and unsteady on her feet so she sat in a wheelchair at the side of Connie's desk, whilst Connie took her usual office chair. She had her arms crossed over her crinkled blouse and her eyes shone with sympathetic tears for the young doctor.

"You're not in trouble here," Connie tried to make that as clear as possible. "But I do need to talk to you about the way Henry has been treating you. Does he hurt you often?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders in silence.

"Lily, this is a safe space," Connie told her. "You can tell me the truth."

"Is Sam okay?" Lily whispered.

Honestly, she didn't even care about Henry. Sam was the only person on her mind.

"We can talk about her in a little while," Connie promised. "Now back to Henry. Does he hurt you often, Lily?"

Lily so desperately wanted to be honest, but it wasn't always that easy. Yes, she and Iain were now out in the open, but Henry was still around and he could quite easily hurt her again. He'd hurt her before, hadn't he, when he didn't even know she was seeing Iain? Lily was completely torn. She really didn't know what to do. Connie was staring at her though, waiting for an honest answer.

"Sometimes, yeah," she said quietly. "But I made him angry."

"Now I'm sure that's not true," Connie said. "Henry isn't a nice man and your mum must be blind if she can't see that. You deserve someone so much better, someone like Iain." She paused and then sighed, "I kind of guessed there was something going on between the two of you."

"Really?" Lily frowned at her. "So why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I guess you could say that I believe in sparks and connections and when I look at the two of you, it's clear that you're meant to be together," Connie said.

"Really?" Lily asked again, chuckling slightly.

"Oh, absolutely!" Connie said. "It's inevitable. Fairytales and happy endings can come true, you know? You just need to make it happen."

 **Bit of a short chapter there guys, but I hope you liked it. There will be more of Sam in the next chapter, and Iain as well of course. Let me know what you thought x**


End file.
